More Than Meets the Eye
by krayzeekidd95
Summary: Maria Hill thinks that she knows everything that there is to know about Natalie Jade Morgan, the daughter of Doctor Haley Morgan and the assassin known as Shadowstep. When she meets the mysterious beauty, however, her opinion changes drastically. Rated T for swearing and hints of sexual content.
1. Not Your Average Day

**Hey guys, this is my first Avengers fic! It features characters from my DC Comics fic "Rewired" and "Nightshade." The idea popped into my head a while back while I was watching the Avengers movie, and after reading a few fics featuring the lovely Maria Hill, I decided to write this. However, some of the OCs' surnames change when in one universe or the other!**

***DISCLAIMER* I own ****_nothing_**** but the OCs; everything else belongs to their respective owners!**

* * *

Natalie huffed as she sat in her classroom, clearly irritated with having to spend an entire semester with Vinny Charles. He constantly harassed the other girls in school, and he was the only fool that hadn't been on the receiving end of one of Natalie's vicious punches.

"Hey fuckstick, you mind shuttin' the fuck up?" Natalie finally asked, turning to face Vinny.

"Only if you give me what I want!" Vinny cackled.

Natalie glared at Vinny and he got the hint. Second period wasn't over yet, but she desperately wished that it was so that she could get the hell away from Vinny. She hated that she had to sit through Spanish class in high school- she already spoke it fluently along with six other languages. Out of nowhere, somebody knocked on the door, and Senora Nelson moved quickly to answer it. A redhead on the other side of the door caught Natalie's eye for a moment before she turned her attention back to her homework.

"Can I help you?" Senora Nelson asked, staring at the redhead.

"Agent Natasha Romanoff, FBI," the redhead answered, flashing a badge. "I need to talk to Natalie Morgan."

"What's this about?"

"FBI business, ma'am. A little professional courtesy would go a long way..."

Senora Nelson allowed the agent to enter the classroom, and she immediately approached Natalie.

"Come with me," the agent muttered to Natalie.

"Right behind yah," Natalie said, glad to get away from Vinny and his stupid antics. Sadly, he wasn't done with her.

"Ooh!" Vinny yelled, getting Natalie's attention."

Shut your fucking cock holster," Natalie warned, glaring at Vinny.

"You gonna make me?" Vinny challenged with a grin.

Natalie smirked before she turned away for a second. "Pardon me, ma'am."

Vinny was still smiling when Natalie's fist collided with his mouth, splitting his lip open deeply. He arched back in pain, holding his jaw as he hadn't been expecting Natalie to be able to cause so much damage. "Oops."

Agent Romanoff was aghast at Natalie's response to Vinny's antics. Yep, she's definitely Shadowstep's daughter, she thought to herself as she led Natalie out of the classroom. "Is there a reason why you punched him?"

"He's been asking for it for a while," Natalie replied with a sly smirk on her face. "Speaking of questions, I have a few for you."

"Can they wait?"

"Nope; where are we going and who are you, really?"

"Agent Natasha Romanoff, F-!"

"Bullshit; I know that you're not FBI. What does SHIELD want with me anyways?"

"There was an issue that caught our attention."

"Care to explain more?"

"Can't at the moment; do you think you could help me find your cousins?"

"Psh, that'll be easy- class gets out in a few minutes, so I'll text them and tell them to meet us at the front desk."

"And the principal won't ask?"

"I'm pretty sure that my dad already called him and told him that you were coming to grab us."

Smart for an eighteen-year-old, Natasha thought to herself as she and Natalie headed for the front desk. "I take it you know what your dad does outside of the local PD?"

"Duh!" Natalie retorted, cocking an eyebrow at Natasha. "I helped him and the rest of the family knock Ilya Volchenkov down a peg last fall."

"And the rest?"

"What, the part about him being the infamous Shadowstep or the part about him having SHIELD keeping tabs on me and my brother?"

"What else did he tell you?"

"Just that I had to be careful around SHIELD. There's Vel, Nicky, and CJ now."

Sure enough, Natalie's cousins Velkan McTeague, Connor Vaduva-Jager, and Nikolai O'Malley were at the front desk, all clutching their backpacks. Nikolai's flaming red hair made it easy to spot him, just like it did with Velkan's earrings. "Hey guys."

"What's up Nat?" Velkan asked, glancing at Romanoff. "Who's this?"

"Agent Natasha Romanoff of SHIELD," Natalie replied shortly. "C'mon, let's get outta here before the guards start busting our asses."

Velkan grinned and followed Natalie and the others to her black Ford pickup truck. "Want me to drive?"

"Nah, thanks though!" Natalie replied, throwing her backpack into the bed of the truck. "Romanoff, up front."

"How much do you really know about us?" Velkan asked bluntly once Natalie hit the road.

"Some things aren't for you to know," Natasha replied.

"Heh, typical fucking intelligence agent," CJ remarked. "Knowing SHIELD, you probably know everything about us."

"I'm aware of your little . . . adventures outside of school as well as your parents' past," Romanoff admitted. "Not to mention Nick Fury spent a little while trying to find Natalie's father and his partner-in-crime after Declan Blackwell's body was dropped."

"Ha, that little fucker had it coming," Natalie remarked. "So, if you don't mind telling us, what brings you here to me and my cousins?"

"Well," Natasha began, "I'm sure that you all know that SHIELD was involved with James Claybrook's capture last week. . . ."

"Headline news, that one," Velkan jumped in. "Speaking of whom, are you here because of his brother?"

"Yes and no," Natasha replied. "Bobby Claybrook arrived in town about a week ago, but SHIELD believes that he's up to something bigger than going after Evan and Serana McTeague, Ben Richards, and your siblings. . . ."

"What would have that prick distracted from our family?" Natalie demanded, her blue eyes glowing with anger. "I mean, I know that the fuck wit loves to mess with other people, but still. . . ."

"We believe that Bobby Claybrook has enlisted the help of the Russian mobster Ilya Volchenkov," Natasha began, "and has had some involvement with the use of the super steroid that gave the Phantom his abilities."

Natalie almost slammed the brakes when she heard Natasha mention her uncle, but she chose not to. When she rolled up to a stoplight, she noticed the black car that had gotten behind her truck back by the school, and her alarm bells began going off immediately. "Romanoff, we got company."

Natasha glanced back and noticed the black car in the rear view mirror. "Keep driving; I'll handle it."

"Guys, heads down!" Natalie barked as Natasha unbuckled herself and removed her gun from its holster. "Romanoff, use the back window!"

Natasha's hands reached out to the back window of Natalie's truck and slid it open with ease. She was halfway out of the window when Natalie drifted around the corner, and when she realigned the truck, the rest of Natasha's body slid through the window. Natalie obviously sped up, for Natasha had to stay crouched to avoid being knocked onto her ass by the movement of the truck. She approached the box and aimed her pistol at the car, noticing that the driver was none other than Bobby Claybrook. With a vicious grin on her face, Natasha aimed at the tires and fired her pistol twice, rupturing the tires of Bobby's car with ease. He began to spin out of control, his car fishtailing down the highway before rolling off the road entirely and into the snow.

"Claybrook?" Natalie asked when Natasha clambered back into the pickup truck.

"Yeah," Natasha began, "and I don't think he'll be bothering you guys anytime soon."

"Nice shot, by the way!" Velkan cheered from the backseat.

"Thanks; turn off here!" Natasha instructed. Natalie followed Natasha's orders and turned off the road, wondering where she was going. When she heard the sound of a Chinook helicopter overhead, she realized that she was at a small airfield.

"Any reason why we're here?" Natalie asked when she pulled over.

"You'll see in a minute," Natasha replied. Natalie rolled her pale blue eyes into the back of her skull and clambered out of her pickup truck. Velkan, CJ, and Nicky followed shortly after, each wondering what the hell was about to happen.

"Hope you didn't have too much trouble getting here!" Evan McTeague hollered over the noise of the aircraft that surrounded him and his family.

"Getting here wasn't the problem," Natalie replied. "Bobby Claybrook decided to try and start some more shit with us, so Romanoff shot out his tires and sent him into the snow."

"Nice!" Evan cheered, grinning at his daughter. "You guys okay?"

"Yep; just wondering what the fuck we're doing here. . . ."

"Follow me."

Natalie shrugged off the worried glances that her cousins gave her as she followed her father to the helicopter. She was beginning to doubt Evan when she noticed a brunette that made her stop dead in her tracks. Shrugging it off, she clambered onto the helicopter with her father, Natasha, and her cousins right behind her. She grinned when she noticed her uncle Ben in the copilot seat, his custom-made comms set rested over his jet-black helmet. After liftoff, she felt her thoughts drifting to the mysterious brunette that was only a few feet from her. With a grin, she closed her eyes and fell asleep as Ben and the pilot took the rest of the crew higher into the sky.


	2. Hill & Chaos

**Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! Pardon the delay between chapters- I've been busy at work lately and spending time with my family. Anyhoo, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Natalie hadn't been able to get her mind off of the brunette that she'd seen on her father's Chinook helicopter, and when she saw her standing next to Director Nick Fury on the bridge of the SHIELD helicarrier, she felt her breath hitch in her throat. She was floored when she saw the other woman grin at her, so she decided to approach her and introduce herself.

"Agent Hill," the brunette greeted, holding out her hand when Natalie approached her.

"Natalie Morgan," Natalie replied, fighting her raging heartbeat as she shook Agent Hill's hand firmly. "You probably know everything about me, so I won't say much more."

Agent Hill giggled slightly at Natalie's statement, which shocked the eighteen-year-old. She took a second look at Natalie, clearly shocked that she was standing in front of Evan McTeague's daughter. The file that she'd given to Agent Romanoff surprisingly didn't have a photo of Natalie, which shocked Agent Hill. She knew that the file on Natalie was missing a few things besides her photo. Natalie's pale blue eyes had a certain spark that was almost like a line of fuel that had been ignited by a lighter on a dark night. Her brown hair fell just past the nape of her neck and appeared to have mated with the soothing northern winds. Natalie's smile was very charming, and Agent Hill immediately noticed the snow-white teeth.

"Agent Hill?" Natalie asked, pulling Hill from her thoughts.

"Sorry," Agent Hill muttered, glancing away from Natalie.

"Hey, if you want, I could tell you something that I don't think SHIELD has on file," Natalie offered gently.

"What might that be?" Agent Hill asked, her voice now clipped with a sternness that reminded Natalie of her father.

"The nickname that I got from my father and Phantom..."

Agent Hill cocked an eyebrow at Natalie, clearly taken aback.

"They call me Chaos..." Natalie whispered. "I don't really know why, so I don't ask..."

_"'Chaos?'"_ Agent Hill repeated, stunned at the news.

"Yeah, I know that it's ridiculous..."

"It's not ridiculous; I think it fits!"

"You _do?"_

"Yeah; I heard that you punched a kid so hard this morning that his lip was lacerated."

"Oops."

Agent Hill smirked, a rarity in her line of work. "I see that the rest of your family made it here."

Natalie glanced over her shoulder and immediately noticed the rest of her family standing at the back of the bridge.

Jesse Richards, aka Wraith, had been talking to Agent Clint Barton. Jesse's dark hair and pale brown eyes were shining in the flooded room, and the scars from his accident were as pale as the snow.

Natalie's younger brother Dave, aka Daedra, was discussing the latest sports results with Velkan at the nearest table.

Connor O'Malley, Nikolai's father, was brooding in the back corner, his bright red hair the same as Nikolai's. What gave him away was the scar above his right eyebrow, a gift from Evan when Connor had busted into the mansion to find his son eighteen and a half years before.

Velkan's younger brother Malacath was leaning against the back wall, scowling like he usually did. His hazel eyes set him apart from his brother, and his hair was the same shade of brown that he and his sister Aria had gotten from their mother Serana instead of the strawberry blonde hue that his brothers and father had.

Ben was sitting in a chair next to his son Velkan and nephew Dave. His hair had grown since Agent Hill had last heard of him, and a murderous glint was shining in his eyes. Natalie could tell that Ben's mind was in a dark place at the moment, and she didn't dare disturb him.

"Miss Morgan?" Agent Hill began hesitantly.

"Yes?" Natalie replied eagerly.

"Is that the MMA fighter known as 'Crash Course?'" Agent Hill asked, motioning to Jesse.

"Yep; hard to believe that Crash Course and Wraith are the same person, huh?" Natalie inquired with a smirk.

"Wow..."

"Yeah..."

Out of nowhere, Fury called everyone to attention. Natalie approached the table with Agent Hill on her heels, and she had a hard time not glancing over her shoulder at the brunette.

"Director," Agent Hill greeted curtly.

"Hill," Fury replied shortly.

"Sir," Natalie muttered, trying her best to not glare. It was no secret that Natalie didn't like Fury- he kept tabs on her when she was younger, and not warning her that Claybrook was back in town was another reason to hate him.

"Morgan," Fury muttered. "Alright, we all know that Ilya Volchenkov and Bobby Claybrook are working together. The only question that SHIELD has is _why."_

"Probably because of the Goliath steroid," Ben began halfheartedly, his blue eyes now as bright as the coals in the pit of a fire. "Volchenkov's old boss, Sergei Kosovo, got his hands on it fifteen years ago and used it on me when I went in with the rest of my family to rescue Nightshade."

"Why would he want the steroid to begin with?" Agent Hill asked.

"Domination," Ben replied simply. "Unfortunately for Kosovo, he didn't count on the steroid mutating a person's abilities. The steroid's effects can mutate the abilities of the host, and in some cases- such as my own - the host can develop an ability that is unknown to mankind. Its active effects are superhuman strength, heightened senses, superhuman healing, and, in my case, element shifting."

"What does this have to do with Volchenkov?" Barton piped up.

"I'm getting there," Ben replied softly. "Volchenkov more than likely wants to use the steroid on his guards as an experiment, and if it's successful, then he'll move to use it on Russian civilians to create an army for himself and Claybrook to command."

"What the hell does he need an army for?" Natasha asked.

"Search me," Ben replied. "For all that we know, Volchenkov and Claybrook want an army to wreak havoc on the people that took care of Declan Blackwell and half of Volchenkov's friends."

"In other words, your family," Agent Hill deduced.

"Yes and no," Ben said. "Blackwell may have attacked Serana before she and Evan underwent assassin training, but Bobby Claybrook has always craved power. He's a career criminal, and it doesn't really surprise me to know that he's working with Volchenkov."

"Because of his lust for power?" Fury asked.

"That, and him being a royal piece of shit that disregards all humans except himself, Volchenkov, and his little brother Jimmy," Ben spat. "I'll bet anything that he wants the Goliath steroid so that he can gain an immense amount of power and kill millions of people..."

Fury seemed to take Ben's words to heart and quietly dismissed everyone, including Agent Hill. He clearly needed a little time to think about how to approach the situation.

* * *

After night had fallen and the helicarrier had been enveloped in stars, Agent Hill found herself standing outside of Natalie's quarters. She could hear some kind of music coming from the room, which intrigued her. _Focus, Maria,_ she thought to herself. _You're not doing anything you shouldn't be- you're just asking her a few things about Volchenkov._ Exhaling a deep breath, Agent Hill knocked on the door, fighting her heart's attempted jailbreak from her rib cage.

_"Who is it?"_ Natalie called out from behind the door, her voice far more calm than Agent Hill had expected.

"Agent Hill," Hill replied quickly. Moments later Natalie's door swung open, revealing the tall eighteen-year-old. Hill immediately noticed that Natalie had changed into a form-fitting, long-sleeved black t-shirt, straight-legged dark wash jeans, and red Nike high tops. Her brown hair was short and shaggy, which Hill secretly found adorable.

"What's up?" Natalie asked, inviting Hill inside.

"Well ... well..." Hill sputtered, trying to fight the surprise that rose in her chest when she heard Breaking Benjamin slithering through the speakers on Natalie's computer.

"Forgive me, but were you expecting death metal?" Natalie asked, trying her best not to laugh.

"Yeah..." Hill admitted, clearly shocked that she hadn't heard Lamb of God or Fleshgod Apocalypse pounding through the speakers. "I take it you like Breaking Benjamin...?"

"Yeah," Natalie admitted. "I'm not always blasting death metal at all hours of the day..."

"Really?" Hill asked, stepping closer to Natalie.

"Yeah, unless I'm angry enough to wanna kill someone," Natalie admitted with a devious grin pulling at her lips. Agent Hill raised an eyebrow at Natalie's statement, clearly caught off guard. "Don't worry, I haven't killed anyone!"

"Not yet?" Hill joked.

"No, and if I do, I hope the first one is either Volchenkov or Claybrook!"

Hill shook her head at the younger woman, trying her best not to laugh. When Natalie went to sit on her bed, Hill noticed a collection of CDs on Natalie's desk. It only took one raised eyebrow from Natalie to send Hill over the edge.

"You alright Agent Hill?" Natalie asked, her eyes now flooding with concern.

"Just trying to figure out where SHIELD got your info..." Hill admitted as Breaking Benjamin's "Forever" began playing on the computer.

"Either my dad or Serana," Natalie said bluntly, getting off her bed to turn her computer's volume up. Hill couldn't help but grin when she heard Natalie start singing. "Can I feel ... a chemical reaction...?"

Hill continued to stare at Natalie as she sang, her voice melodic and sending Hill's heart into overdrive. By this point, Natalie had flopped onto her bed, her head landing softly on the pillow. Hill grinned when Natalie slid her hands under her head, staring at the ceiling as she sang ever so softly. _There's no way she's only eighteen,_ Hill thought to herself as she glanced sideways at Natalie. _Not a chance in hell ... she has to be only fourteen or fifteen..._

"Something troubling you, Agent Hill?" Natalie asked out of the blue.

"This is gonna sound pathetically stupid..." Hill trailed off.

"Eh, I don't judge. What's on your mind?"

"Are you really eighteen years old? You ... forgive me ... you don't really _look_ eighteen..."

Natalie threw her head back and began laughing so hard that she had to hold her ribs. She couldn't believe that Hill had asked her about her age! "I'm not sure if that should be an insult or a compliment..."

Hill's left eyebrow rose to a peak on her forehead, clearly taken aback by Natalie's statement. "Maybe a little bit of both...?"

Natalie giggled at Hill's reply before getting off of her bed to turn off the music on her computer. Hill's blue eyes followed Natalie's every move, and when she flopped back down on her bed, Hill joined her. She was certain that Natalie herself could hear her heart pounding against her ribs as she scooted closer to her. Natalie's pale blue eyes had this seductive spark burning in them, one that made Hill want to drop everything and kiss her. Hill was about to say something but Natalie leaned in and softly kissed the older agent, catching her off guard. She smiled into the kiss nonetheless and deepened it as time went on, savoring the moment that she and Natalie had. They pulled away after the need for air was greater than the need to share a kiss.

"Wow..." Hill gasped.

"Yeah..." Natalie agreed, grinning at Hill.

"Can we ... do that again...?" Hill asked hesitantly.

"Of course we can," Natalie replied before pulling Hill into another kiss. This one was far more passionate and fiery than the first, and it elicited a groan from Hill. Natalie was slightly-no, _very-_ turned on by Hill. They remained in their kiss for almost a full minute until a knock on Natalie's door interrupted them.

"I'll be right back," Natalie whispered before turning to answer the door. The person on the other side knocked once more, which frustrated Natalie. "Hang on!"

"Been busy?" Natasha Romanoff asked with a grin threatening to pull her mouth to her ears.

"Hill had a few questions," Natalie replied, her pale blue eyes now darkening like the stormy skies. "What can I do for you, Romanoff?"

"Fury needs to see you and Maria in the briefing room," Romanoff replied.

"What's going on?" Natalie asked.

"Just got word from Fury that Volchenkov is using Claybrook as his glorified attack dog," Natasha replied. "He was trying to take you and your cousins out as a message to your father."

"Ha, typical fuckin' Volchenkov," Natalie laughed. "When will that little fucker learn that he won't win?"

"There's another problem..."

"Okay, shoot."

Natasha glanced at Maria before continuing. "Volchenkov has his hands on the Goliath steroid."

"Only thing that I'm wondering is how the fuck he got his hands on it," Natalie muttered.

"Good question; go meet Fury in the briefing room," Natasha replied before closing the door and turning to face Maria and Natalie.

"You alright?" Maria asked hesitantly.

"Could be a hell of a lot worse, I suppose..." Natalie trailed off. "They could be asking me to kill someone or to interrogate one of Volchenkov's maggots..."

"True..."

Natalie turned away and turned her computer up. "I just hope that Fury isn't sending us after Volchenkov just yet..."

"Why?" Maria asked.

"After everything that Volchenkov has done, I kind of want to rip his heart out and stuff it down his throat..."

Maria stared at Natalie wide-eyed. "Maybe we shouldn't do that..."

"It was a thought," Natalie said. "I'm not literally going to do that. Volchenkov deserves a fate worse than death if you ask me..."

"Then why did you have that thought?"

"Volchenkov weaponized an experimental steroid and his former lieutenant used it on Ben. He's killed nearly a dozen people within the last fourteen years by using the steroid. The steroid is almost as bad as weaponized smallpox and some of the symptoms mimic that of the Ebola virus."

When the words "smallpox" and "Ebola" rolled out of Natalie's mouth, Maria felt her breath hitch in her throat and fear rising in her heart. "How ... how does the steroid mimic the Ebola virus...?"

Natalie raised a dark brown eyebrow at Maria. "Blood comes out of the mouth, eyes, ears, and nose. The Goliath steroid only _mimics_ the virus if it kills someone. If their body accepts the steroid, then the person goes unconscious and remains in a comatose state. The length of their coma varies on the person- in a case like Ben's, the person is only out for a few minutes. In other cases, the person can be out for several hours or days."

"Why is this important?" Natasha asked, clearly irritated.

Natalie rolled her eyes at the Russian. "If the steroid has a success rate, then Volchenkov could use it for world domination. It is generally good to know about these things in the event that SHIELD would ever come across hostiles that have been exposed to the virus and are intending to use it."

"We already know that Volchenkov is power hungry," Natasha sighed.

"Have there been any intel reports regarding the use of the Goliath?" Natalie asked harshly.

"Very few..." Maria confirmed.

"That's more than I would've hoped to hear..." Natalie admitted. "What about laboratory break-ins at hospitals or research facilities?"

"You think Volchenkov stole it from the US?" Natasha asked.

"If Volchenkov got his hands on Ben's blood, then he could use his scientist friends at the KGB to recreate the formula so that it doesn't kill people," Natalie huffed. "Last I checked, a sample of Ben's blood was at three locations- Atlanta, Baltimore, and Cambridge, UK..."

"Cambridge had a security breach at their research lab a few months ago..." Maria trailed off.

"Start there; run a background check on all employees within the last six to twelve months," Natalie advised. "If one of them was fired for removing samples, then it is highly likely that they are working for Volchenkov."

"Got it; meet Fury in the briefing room," Natasha instructed as she bolted from Natalie's quarters.

No sooner was Natasha gone that Natalie had her arms wrapped around Maria's shoulders. "I believe we were starting something before she interrupted us...?"

Maria grinned at the femme fatale standing before her and quickly closed the distance between them. Natalie happily returned the kiss and allowed Maria to deepen it, which sent the younger woman's heart into overdrive. Maria pulled away once the need for air became highly imminent. "Anyone ever tell you what a badass you are?"

"Ever look in the mirror?" Natalie challenged, her words forcing Maria to raise an eyebrow.

"You brought Volchenkov down for a moment last year, and you were only seventeen," Maria reminded Natalie, who was now her lover. "I'd say that is pretty badass."

"I wasn't alone," Natalie fired back. "I had my little brother with me, and we each kicked the crap out of a few of Volley-boy's personal guards."

"'Volley-boy?'"

"Insult...?"

"I see ... you and your brother are badasses."

Natalie grinned as she changed her playlist on her computer. Moments later, the powerful guitars of Godsmack filled the room. She knew that it wasn't the most romantic sound out there, but she was trying to mentally prepare for her face-off against Ilya Volchenkov and, quite possibly, Sergei Kosovo.

"Godsmack?!" Maria asked in utter confusion.

"Hey, their music is perfect for prepping to face off against a piece of shit like Volchenkov," Natalie said defensively.

Maria was about to reply when Natalie crashed their lips together. She was caught off guard, but she returned the kiss with even more passion, which obviously caught Natalie's attention. The younger girl had pulled her backwards onto her bed with her when they heard someone clear their throat. Maria backfired away from Natalie and laid eyes on Agent Phil Coulson, who'd been standing in the doorway the whole time. Natalie's face was as red as the setting sun while Maria simply looked away.

"Sorry to interrupt," Coulson said softly.

"What can I do for you, Agent Coulson?" Natalie asked despite her embarrassment.

"Fury needs you both for mission briefing."

"Be right there; I gotta shut down my computer..."

Coulson simply nodded and left Maria and Natalie alone to gather themselves. Maria was absolutely _humiliated_ that Coulson had caught her and Natalie and began cursing under her breath. Coulson, who was already at the end of the hallway, had extreme difficulty holding his thoughts at bay. _I thought that Maria would go for Rogers or another agent, maybe even Romanoff, not Shadowstep's daughter,_ he thought to himself. _Then again, Natalie is one of the most elite combat strategists known to SHIELD, not to mention the fact that once Volchenkov, Kosovo, and Claybrook are captured, she will be going to Parris Island for boot camp._ Shaking his head, Coulson entered the briefing room and immediately noticed Natalie's father, Evan McTeague, pacing back and forth with daggers in his eyes. Coulson was highly tempted to say something to Evan about his daughter's involvement with Agent Hill, but he bit his tongue and waited for the rest of the assassin's family to arrive.

* * *

"You alright?" Natalie asked Maria as they rounded the corner on their way to the briefing room.

"Next time, don't be so reckless!" Maria hissed.

Natalie stared wide-eyed at her lover. "Reckless? Really? You asked me for the second one!"

"I'm not the one that started it with _Coulson_ watching!" Maria snapped.

"I had no idea he was gonna come to my quarters after Romanoff!" Natalie said defensively. "And as to how the hell he got the door open is beyond me!"

Maria shot daggers at Natalie with her blue-green eyes and opened the door to the briefing room. "Miss Morgan."

"Agent Hill," Natalie said curtly before entering the room. She shot Coulson a warning glare, which only made the man want to smirk at the eighteen-year-old.

While Natalie and Maria had been arguing on their way down to the briefing room, the rest of Natalie's family had arrived on the helicarrier, including her brother Dave and their cousin Jesse. Needless to say, the girl was surprised to see the twenty-three year-old in jeans and a t-shirt instead of his swashbuckler-looking armor. _Wonder why Fury called Jesse in,_ Natalie thought to herself as she sat down next to her younger brother. Maria, on the other hand, took the only empty seat on the opposite end of the table, which happened to be right next to Jesse. She had a hard time focusing since her hind sights kept on getting breached by Dave's blood-colored hair. Natasha was amused at how quickly Maria and Natalie had drifted away from each other, especially due to the fact that she'd watched them kiss over the surveillance feed in Natalie's quarters _and_ their embarrassment when Coulson had caught them. Moments later, the rest of Natalie's family joined them, including Velkan McTeague and his younger brother Malacath.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Fury began sharply. "We have just received intel that Ilya Volchenkov had a mole at a research facility in Cambridge that he used to steal the Goliath steroid.

"Volchenkov's best friend Bobby Claybrook has been using civilian hostages as guinea pigs for the particular strain of the Goliath, the one that researchers have dubbed 'Phantom.'"

Everyone heard Ben inhale sharply in his seat and his eyes took on a strange red-orange tinge.

"We haven't heard anything about whether or not these so-called 'experiments' have been successful, but we have to exercise caution in all forms," Fury continued.

"What's the plan?" Natalie asked with an iceberg in her voice.

"We have to bring Volchenkov in _alive,"_ Fury said pointedly, glancing particularly at Ben and Evan.

"How do we know that he hasn't used the steroid on himself?" Maria asked.

"He's a coward," Ben spat. "He'd rather watch others suffer and bend them to his will than change things himself..."

"Ben's right," Evan joined in. "Volchenkov has no interest in using the steroid on himself as far as we know."

"What would make him change his mind?" Coulson asked.

"If he was on his own," Malacath said. "Volchenkov hates being in solitary situations."

"How will we get him on his own without risking him using the steroid on himself?" Fury demanded.

Dave glanced at Natalie and Evan before replying. "Surprise attacks are the best way to get Volchenkov. Take out his personal guards, you got one scared little Kremlin."

Natasha glared when Dave said "Kremlin" but said nothing to him. "The only question is how we're going to be able to take out his personal guards without him raising the alarm..."

"You guys got surveillance on Volchenkov's hideout?" Jesse finally asked.

"We have a mole in the KGB that has been helping us run surveillance on Volchenkov," Fury confirmed.

"Don't tell me- it's Romanoff," a male voice echoed from the doorway.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Connor," Natasha said icily.

"Wow, so she does have emotions! Who would've thought!" Connor joked.

"Thin ice, Red Eagle," Natalie warned, firing blazing hot daggers at Connor.

Connor only laughed at his surrogate niece and took a seat next to his son Nikolai. "Can this mole be trusted?"

"Seeing as everything they've told us about Volchenkov has been true, I would definitely say so," Evan spat.

"Moving on," Fury began firmly, "SHIELD has decided to send in a task force. The main mission is to bring Volchenkov and Claybrook in alive."

Evan shot a warning glance at Velkan and Malacath, both of whom had been clutching their daggers in a deathly tight grip under the table.

"Where do we start?" Natalie asked, looking Fury in the eye.

"Agents Morgan, Hill, Romanoff, and Jesse Richards will be infiltrating the compound," Fury began. "Agent Ben Richards, Shadowstep, and O'Malley will be on comms and transport."

"Sir, if I may..." Maria began. "Do you really think it would be a good idea to send Romanoff, myself, and miss Morgan in unprotected?"

"What do you mean?" Fury asked.

"She's trying to ask you to send someone else in to back us up," Natalie filled in, throwing a wink at Maria.

"Forgive me, but who else in this room besides the team that I have chosen can utilize stealth?" Fury asked nonchalantly.

"Dave," Evan and Natalie said in unison. Dave merely glared at his sister and father for putting him on the spot, his mouth twitching and revealing a set of pale white, wolf-like teeth.

"Care to explain?" Fury asked.

"Agent Morgan has exceptional stealth skills that can be used to our advantage," Maria explained. "He shows restraint when needed, and his tactics are highly valuable."

"Very well," Fury answered. "Dave, go with Natalie, Romanoff, Hill, and Jesse."

"Sir, out of respect," Natalie began, "complete stealth won't help us out in the long run. The best way to make sure that the team has a clear route to Volchenkov is to remove any threats on the outside. If Volchenkov's guards have been subjected to the use of the Goliath steroid, then they will easily pick up our scent and alert the others."

"What would you suggest I do?" Fury demanded.

"Send Ben in as a distraction- he can pick off the guards with ease and keep them from finding the others," Evan suggested. "With the other guards distracted, Natalie, Hill, Romanoff, Jesse, and Dave can sneak in."

"Where does that leave the rest of us?" Connor asked.

"That leaves you on the helijet on comms and transport," Fury explained, "while Malacath, Velkan, and Nikolai will be on the bridge providing visuals."

Everyone nodded and Fury dismissed them. As Natalie was about to leave, Evan pulled her aside. "Natalie, I need you to be careful out there."

"I'm fine, Dad," Natalie replied. "Seriously."

"Natalie," Evan began warningly.

"I'll watch my ass, okay? I'll alert the others if shit is about to hit the fan."

"Good girl; keep an eye on Dave and make sure he doesn't lose it."

"Got it; see you at the hangar bay."

Evan grinned and headed back to his quarters to get his armor and weapons, leaving Natalie to her thoughts.

* * *

Natalie had been trying to mentally prepare herself for the upcoming mission when she heard a knock on her door. "It's open!"

Maria opened the door and entered her lover's quarters, wincing as the sound of death metal invaded her ears. "Aren't you worried about blowing your ears out?"

Natalie laughed as she turned her computer volume down a little. "Helps me mentally prepare for combat ... what can I do for you?"

Maria hesitated for a split second but didn't let it show. "About earlier..."

"You want me to keep it between us, got it," Natalie grunted as she zipped up her jumpsuit.

"We have to talk about it," Maria said firmly.

"I'm listening," Natalie replied.

The way that she'd replied made Maria want to forget everything, but she stood her ground. "What happened between you and I can't happen again."

"That's hard to believe seeing as you asked me if we could do it again," Natalie retorted, strapping a stiletto knife to each boot.

"It is highly against SHIELD protocol to fraternize!" Maria snapped.

Natalie only smirked and pulled Maria closer to her. "I won't be all mush-gushy while we're at work."

Maria raised an eyebrow at the younger agent, but soon lost herself in those pale blue eyes that held the same smirk as their owner's mouth. "If Coulson says something to Fury or your father, we're both screwed."

"I think we'll be fine so long as we don't fuck around while on the job. What happened between us happened when we'd both been dismissed for a while, remember?"

Maria knew that Natalie was right, so she chose to not press the issue any further. "We got a mobster to catch."

"Right behind you," Natalie murmured. "Promise me something...?"

"Anything."

"Cover your ass while you're out there? I don't wanna think about you getting hurt."

Maria grinned at Natalie before they left the younger woman's quarters. "I'll be fine; cover your own ass."

Natalie grinned and they both headed for the hangar bay.

* * *

**Sorry about the wait between chapters, I have been busy at school and work. :( Please feel free to drop a review and any suggestions on what I may be able to improve! Thanks for your views and reviews!**


	3. Briefing

**Hello everyone, thank you for the views! I do apologize for the wait between updates due to having to balance school and work, so thank you for bearing with me! Enjoy the next chapter, and feel free to leave a review!**

* * *

Maria and Natalie had arrived at the hangar bay and immediately noticed Natalie's brother Dave sitting outside of one of the helijets sharpening his blades. His armor reminded Maria of the videogame franchise "Metal Gear Solid," but it was obvious that Dave's was custom made:

His bandanna was jet-black against his blood-colored hair minus the mahogany-colored skull in the center, his high-collared shirt was a lighter shade of red than his hair, and the straps that held his equipment to his torso were gray, unlike the mahogany on his legs. His pale blue eyes appeared to have been darkened by the ashes of his emotions, which scared Natalie- what if Dave was preparing to kill someone?

"You alright?" Natasha asked out of nowhere.

"I'm fine," Natalie replied shortly. "It's Dave that I'm worried about- he looks like he's getting ready to kill someone!"

"I'm blown away that a teenager would be prepared to kill someone," Maria muttered.

"Definitely not the first time," Natalie supplied with a sadistic grin. "Remember a guy named Darren Wesley?"

"What about him?" Natasha jumped in.

"My dad took him out at the age of sixteen- just a year younger than what Dave is now!" Natalie laughed. Her sadistic grin was silently turning Maria on, but she didn't dare reveal that in front of the others- especially Natasha.

"Your dad took out Darren Wesley?!" Maria gaped.

"So what?" Natalie replied, raising one of her brown eyebrows at the older agent. "Wesley was a piece of shit anyways- beat on his wife and kids on a constant basis, even when he was sober! He got what he deserved!"

"Are you saying that you're proud of what your father did?" Natasha asked in extreme bewilderment.

"Proud, not really- it isn't easy trying to not follow in the footsteps of an assassin like Shadowstep, even if he is one of your greatest idols," Natalie explained. "Hell, Dad even says that he's not really proud of his past!"

"Then why did he start?" Maria asked, following Natalie onto the helijet.

"Two punks attacked my aunt Serana, whom SHIELD also knows as Shadow Dancer- now Nightshade- and left her to die. Strangely enough, that's how she met Phantom," Natalie huffed. "Ben was an eyewitness and his testimony sent Declan Blackwell and James Claybrook to prison. Ben also helped look after Serana while he was over in Scotland with his band for a gig."

"Angel's Execution was known that much?" Natasha asked from the front of the cargo bay.

"Oh yeah; they got started when Ben was thirteen," Natalie said excitedly. "One year later, boom! Near world-wide fame in the metal world!"

"I take it Serana was smitten with Ben?" Maria asked jokingly.

"Duh?!" Natalie said, making a hand gesture that said "isn't it obvious?"

"Who put Ben in charge of the radio?" Dave finally spoke up, glancing up from one of his blades.

"Ben's not in the cockpit, dipshit," Natalie told her brother. "Connor's behind the wheel."

"You'd think that he'd choose something besides No Ma'am!" Dave whined, earning a shoulder punch from Natalie.

"Cut it out, moron!" Natalie scolded, dodging an elbow to the ribs. "Hey Red Eagle, can you turn on something else?"

"What are you in the mood for, smooth jazz? Rap? Blues? Folk?" Connor rattled off.

"Would it kill you to turn on some Godsmack, Rob Zombie, or Slipknot?" Natalie grumbled, glaring at her surrogate uncle.

"Hey moron," Ben called out from the back of the helijet, "get into the copilot seat- I'm flying this fucker!"

Natalie grinned at Ben as he thundered past her, the sound of his boots heavy on the floor of the helijet. She noticed his jaw twitching, along with a strange rush of dark blue in his throat. She let the whole thing slide when Ben immediately turned off the sounds of No Ma'am (Connor's old band) and turned on his mix tape. Natalie could almost feel Dave's excitement when the sounds of "Awake" by Godsmack began pounding through the speakers.

_"I'm alive, for you I'm awake! Because of you I'm alive, told you I'm alive, swallowing you-!" _the speakers blared, forcing Natalie's eyes to widen. She knew the _real _reason behind Ben choosing this song.

* * *

**Flashback**

_Ben had led Evan and Connor to the compound that Ivan Kosovo, the brother and right-hand man of Sergei Kosovo, had been using for the Goliath steroid and as a prison for Serana. The fight that Ben and Kosovo had engaged in had left Ben badly injured. Bruises formed all over his face, his ribs were cracked, and his left cheekbone was completely shattered._

_"BEN!" Serana screamed in horror, staring at her badly beaten husband._

_"You're quite the vocal little one, aren't you?" Ivan Kosovo cackled. "Such a shame that Ben is going to die!" _

_His laughter continued as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket and stuck the needle into Ben's arm. Serana began to struggle even more against her restraints, which were even more heavy than what she was used to (she'd learned how to slip most restraints)._

_"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Serana howled with the hottest flames of rage burning in her eyes. She couldn't believe that Kosovo had used the Goliath steroid on her husband!_

_Kosovo only continued to laugh, which was easily his last mistake. The terror that unfolded behind him was the last thing that he would ever remember:_

_Ben's body had adapted to the steroid, but the toxins that were meant to kill him forced his systems to go entirely haywire. The high concentration of scorpion venom was the first thing to mess his systems up. Kosovo had obviously done his research on deadly animals and the use of the venom of a scorpion, but it was no help to him. Luckily for Ben, the chemical components of the steroid had only slowed his heart, which ultimately saved his life. Within moments, his body had recovered, and he was standing up to face Kosovo. A strange red-orange glow pulsed through Ben's veins, which terrified Serana. "Hey asshole!"_

_Kosovo turned around and stared wide-eyed at Ben- how did he survive?! "What the-?!"_

_Kosovo didn't even have time to finish his statement or make a move when Ben lifted him with one arm, turned him sideways, reached into the back of his neck, and ripped out his entire spinal column with his bare hands. Serana was mortally terrified and fainted on the spot, which worried Ben. He barely glanced away from Serana before he noticed Ivan Kosovo's spinal column on the floor, and he immediately felt sick. He had never killed anyone before, and he realized that the steroid had turned him into a monster._

_"I'm sorry," Ben muttered as he lifted Serana over his shoulder and left Kosovo's compound, leaving the mobster's spinal column for his lieutenants to find on their own._

_"What the hell happened?" Evan demanded as Ben carried Serana to the waiting helicopter._

_"Kosovo injected me with something..." Ben trailed off. "I don't know what it did to me, but next thing I know, I'm ripping out his spine..."_

_Evan stared wide-eyed at his brother-in-law as he took the helicopter into the sky. By that time Serana had came to and immediately turned to face her husband._

_"Ben," Serana began nervously, "I think Kosovo injected you with the Goliath steroid..."_

_"How can you be sure that it was the steroid and not just plain scorpion venom?" Ben demanded, his eyes filling with a strange wave of red-orange._

_"Because the scorpion venom would've killed you," Serana answered plainly. "I've never seen scorpion venom mixed with anything to give its host superhuman abilities..."_

_"I'm not human!" Ben cried out. "What I did to Kosovo was not human!"_

_"You only had moments to react!" Evan jumped in. "You saved thousands of lives, Ben!"_

_"How do you know that I won't destroy more?" Ben demanded. "I slaughtered Kosovo like he was a piece of meat waiting to be eaten!"_

_Serana reached across the cabin of the helicopter and took Ben's hand in her own. Before Ben could protest, she placed his hand over his heart. "You're alive for a reason, Ben. What you're feeling against your hand is your purpose."_

_Ben stared at Serana in disgust and dropped his hand. "This heart isn't meant to give life to a murderer."_

_Serana fought the acid tears and held Ben's hand against her chest. "This one beats for you, Ben. You might view yourself as a monster, but I look at you as my husband and partner. You're my right-hand man in everything, babe, and if I have to give my soul to the devil to keep it like that, then send me to hell."_

_Ben was speechless at his wife's words and began subconsciously tracing his silver wedding band with his thumb. He loved her and was willing to do anything for her if it kept her happy._

* * *

**Present Day**

Natalie shuddered at the story that her father had told her only a year ago. She was worried for her uncle and the rest of her family- what if Ben had a "moment" and went on a rampage? _Focus,_ she thought to herself as the rest of her teammates joined her. _Ben's suit won't allow him to use his powers unless the danger is too great. The needles will prevent him from causing complete mayhem._ "Where's Dad?"

"Getting his stuff ready," Dave answered. "Hey, you okay?"

"Fine," Natalie lied. She was absolutely terrified for Maria- what if she got hurt? _Focus, _she thought to herself.

"C'mon sis, I know you better than that!" Dave prodded.

"I'm worried about Maria," Natalie murmured.

"Why?"

"Because I really, really like her..."

Dave stared wide-eyed at his sister- she had feelings for Maria? Was she serious? "How long?"

"Ever since I saw her on the helicopter..." Natalie trailed off. "Don't tell Dad or Fury, alright?"

"You got it," Dave answered. Evan had arrived on the helijet by that point, wearing his oldest set of armor. His hood was the same color of the crimson rivers from his dead targets that had soaked the earth over the years and his hazel eyes were filled with the smoke of hatred. He knew that his father, Owen McTeague, had gone after these bastards several years beforehand and had failed, and when Evan was in his twenties, he had his chance to end everything. He didn't want to fail again- not with his kids caught up in the mix.

"Forgive me for asking, but why are you wearing your old armor?" Natalie asked, pointing at her father's armor.

"Light armor means light on your feet," Evan replied shortly. "Besides, with all of the shit that's going on, people might need a little old school."

Natalie grinned at her father as he took his seat across from Dave. Shortly afterwards, he was joined by Jesse, who was wearing his light armor. His brown eyes were smoldering with fury, and he wanted to make Volchenkov pay for the damage that he'd caused. The drunk driver that had hit his father's pickup truck had left Jesse with a shattered right thigh and right rib cage, multiple bruises on his torso, and glass shards in his face, scalp, and arm. Catching Volchenkov meant everything to him, and he would do anything to make sure that it was done. By the time he'd gotten his head cleared, he realized that the helijet had taken off.

_"Agent McTeague, report,"_ Director Fury ordered sharply over the comms.

"Loud and clear, Director," Evan replied. "We are ten minutes from insertion, over."

_"Copy that."_

Evan removed his hand from the comm set in his ear and immediately began signaling for everyone to get ready. Natalie checked the .45 caliber pistol that she'd been given as an extra precaution and Dave tested the sharpness of his knives. Maria had been clutching an automatic rifle and Jesse's hands suffocated the grip on his billy clubs. One by one, they all stood up and proceeded to the back of the helijet, ready to spring into action against Volchenkov and his men.

* * *

**Sorry for taking so long- school, work, and family life kinda took a little precedence. :( On the other hand, we are one step closer to going after Volchenkov and seeing more romance between Natalie and Maria! Reviews are welcome and encouraged; if you have suggestions, please PM me!**


	4. Targets

**Hey guys, thanks for all of the views and reviews! I'm sorry for all of the talking in the last chapter; I promise that there will be more action in this one! Enjoy!**

* * *

"GO GO GO!" Evan hollered above the whirring of the helijet. Without hesitation, Natalie and the rest of the team snaked down the thick black ropes that had been hanging up outside of the cargo bay.

Once the helijet was gone, Maria signaled for everyone to form up. "Director Fury, this is Agent Hill. Team One is on the move, over."

_"Copy that,"_ Fury replied instantaneously.

"Let's go," Natasha said quietly.

Dave and Natalie followed the two older agents and Jesse took up the rear, his smoldering brown eyes scanning everything that invaded them. A guard had barely passed by Jesse's crouched figure when he swept the guard's legs out from underneath him and followed up with a quick, hard punch to his head. "Goodnight, asshole."

"Good work," Natasha said when Jesse rejoined them. "Hill, any leads on point of entry?"

"Best shot we have is the rooftop," Maria replied.

"Copy that," Natasha said.

Everyone sneaked onto the rooftop; Natalie was the first to strike by wrapping her legs around a guard's head and pulling him off of his feet. Natasha had put a guard into a sleeper hold and he was out in ten seconds; Dave had kicked a guard in the ribs and knocked him onto the scaffolding below. Jesse had pulled an unsuspecting guard off of the ledge and left him hanging on a rope by his ankle before joining the rest of the team. Two guards remained, and after sharing a glance with one another, Natalie and Dave snuck up on both guards and caught them by complete surprise. The taller guard struggled against Natalie and somehow managed to make a little bit of a ruckus, and within moments the alarm began blaring. Her teeth bared in frustration, Natalie wrenched the guard's shoulder and completely separated it, leaving him writhing on the ground in severe pain. Dave had hung the other guard upside down on the other end of the rooftop, his blue eyes full of murder. "Where's your boss?"

"Why would I tell you?" the guard sneered.

Dave rolled his eyes and dropped the guard onto his head, knocking him out cold. When he turned around, he saw Natasha, Natalie, and Maria all gawking at him. "Hey, it was worth a try."

"Let's move," Natasha ordered. Everyone followed suit and hooked up their rappelling gear to the railing, each holding the rope in a tight grip. "Agent Richards, this is Agent Romanoff. We're all clear on the south rooftop, what's your status? Over."

_"Richards to Romanoff, I read you loud and clear. You're clear to engage, over,"_ Ben replied swiftly.

"Loud and clear, Romanoff over and out!" Natasha said. With a smirk, she nodded at the others and they began moving swiftly down the walls of the building. Natalie's mind was racing with thoughts about Kosovo and Volchenkov, and she wanted to make them pay for everything that they'd done.

"Hold up!" Natalie hissed as she jerked to a stop above one of the windows.

"What's up, Morgan?" Natasha asked.

"I have visual on Volchenkov," Natalie replied. "He's surrounded by his guards."

Maria was about to interject when something invaded the corner of her eye. "Heads up..."

"What is it?" Jesse asked, glancing at the agent.

"Not so much of a 'what' as a 'whom,'" Maria replied.

Natalie corkscrewed her body and scanned the inside of the compound with her blue eyes. The sight that invaded her vision was chilling:

Sergei Kosovo was with Ilya Volchenkov.

Natalie glanced at her brother, Natasha, Maria, and Jesse. "Kosovo is inside with Volchenkov..."

"You can't be serious," Dave marveled. Natalie glared at him and he turned away.

"Agent Richards, this is Agent Romanoff, do you copy?" Natasha radioed.

_"Agent Romanoff, this is Agent Richards, I copy,"_ Ben replied instantaneously. _"What's your status?"_

"Still waiting outside of the south warehouse," Natasha replied. "Kosovo is with Volchenkov, over!"

_"Copy that; I'm on my way!"_ Ben declared.

* * *

Ben arrived at the south warehouse and stacked up outside of the door, his rage levels rising like the ocean waves at high tide. The whites of his eyes took on a dark blue tinge as plasma coursed through his veins. "Agent Richards to Agent Romanoff, over!"

_"This is Agent Romanoff, over!"_ Natasha replied.

"On my mark, we engage the target!"

_"Copy that!"_

Ben exhaled loudly and prepared to kick in the door, thankful that his suit made it easier for him to destroy metallic objects. "Richards to Romanoff, do you copy?"

_"This is Agent Romanoff, I copy,"_ Natasha replied.

"On my mark ... three ... two ... one ... ENGAGE!" Ben ordered. He heard glass shattering on the other side of the building and with an animal-like grunt, he rammed his heavy boot into the door and it came down with ease. He spotted Volchenkov and Kosovo immediately and gave chase. "Sergei Kosovo, Ilya Volchenkov, stop!"

"Shit!" Kosovo muttered when he noticed Ben sprinting at him at full speed. He was about to exit when Jesse landed on top of him and swung his foot over his head. Kosovo went unconscious and Jesse began dragging him outside.

"VOLCHENKOV!" Ben yelled, his voice now low and demonic.

Volchenkov turned to face Ben and laughed. "You're a fool, Benjamin Richards. I'd hope that you would've caught a whiff of my friends, but you're too stupid to notice that you're out-manned, out-positioned, and in a death trap!"

"I'm well aware that you have twenty guys lurking upstairs, asshole," Ben replied coolly. "Give it up; they can't save you!"

Volchenkov laughed once more and whistled; moments later a heavy-set mercenary lumbered around the corner with a mini-gun in his hands. "Last chance to run!"

Ben felt his suit's needles retract as his powers surged throughout his body like a lightning bolt. He glanced briefly at his nephews, niece, and their teammates before nodding at them. "Go on, get outta here!"

Jesse dropped Kosovo's unconscious body and bull rushed the mercenary. His hood came off as his legs carried him towards his target, but he didn't care- he wanted to protect Ben and hopefully catch Volchenkov. "HEY!"

"Jesse, no!" Ben shouted, albeit to no avail- Jesse had leaped onto the mercenary and attempted to overpower him.

Ben decided to go after Volchenkov and leave the others to handle the mercenary, praying that they would survive. He rounded the corner and fired a plasma burst from his hands. Volchenkov had seen it and rolled out of the way just in time, the plasma burning a hole in the wall.

"Fuck!" Ben cursed as he romped after Volchenkov. He was about to fire another burst when a bullet bounced off of his chest plate, ripping his attention away from Volchenkov long enough to allow the mobster to escape.

A mercenary rushed towards Ben and punched the smaller man square in the face, but Ben shrugged it off and swept the mercenary off of his feet. Before the bigger man could react, Ben's fingers wrapped around his leg and pulled with all of the strength that he could muster. An audible crack echoed through the hallway as the mercenary's leg was dislocated. He lay on the ground screaming in agony, and Ben left him there to chase Volchenkov.

_"Ben, where are you?"_ Jesse radioed in.

"Volchenkov has escaped, I repeat, Volchenkov has escaped!" Ben replied with a hiss. His heart was full of rage and he could feel the fire burning inside of his veins- his most formidable enemy had escaped and it was his fault. A heated breath whistled through his teeth as he rushed back to Jesse and the others. He saw the scorching flames that burned in Jesse's eyes as he lifted Kosovo over his shoulder and bolted out of the building. Ben wrenched the heavy-set mercenary over his back and followed Jesse and the others outside to wait for the helijet. It was no secret that Ben was pissed off that Volchenkov had escaped once again, but the memories of Jesse's accident, his son Velkan nearly getting shot, and almost losing Serana only motivated him further to catch the mobster. Moments later, the helijet touched down, and everyone clambered onto it. Ben set the mercenary down and slapped a set of handcuffs onto the his wrists. He sensed an odd familiarity with him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"You alright?" Evan asked Ben after he'd plopped down into his seat.

"I feel like a fucking fool," Ben admitted. "I had him. I HAD HIM!"

"We'll get him, I promise," Evan said reassuringly. "There's no place he can hide from us. There are SHIELD agents all around the world and one sighting of him will have everyone on his tail."

Ben glanced at his brother-in-law and cracked a small grin. "Thanks, Evan. Hey, does this guy look familiar to you?"

Evan cocked an eyebrow and stared at the heavy mercenary. "I don't believe it..."

"What is it?" Ben asked.

* * *

**Sorry to leave a cliffhanger- I have to be evil sometimes! xD Please leave a review! If you'd like to make a suggestion, shoot me a PM! Thanks!**


	5. Plot Twist

**Hey everyone, sorry for that cliffhanger! I had to be evil for once. xD Anyways, thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! You all rock! Enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

"What is it?" Ben asked Evan.

"I think that's Johnny Charles," Evan replied.

"The guy that was kidnapped alongside Connor all those years ago?" Ben questioned.

"It looks like him ... I'll send a picture to my dad and the Intel staff at SHIELD," Evan muttered. "If it is him, then..."

Natalie's head turned to face her dad. "Any relation to Vinny?"

"His uncle," Evan replied. "Johnny was taken by unknown assailants when I was a kid ... if we found him, then I don't know what we'll do..."

Natalie suddenly felt bad for punching Vinny in the face- he may have lost his uncle and started acting out as a result. With a deep breath, she turned to face Maria. "You alright?"

"As well as I could be, I suppose..." Maria trailed off. "Volchenkov escaped, but we got Kosovo, so..."

"True," Natalie said. "Maybe Kosovo will crack and tell us where Volchenkov ran off to..."

"If we break him," Maria said half-halfheartedly.

Natalie shot a pointed look at Maria and shook her head. "He'll crack, don't worry."

On the other side of the helijet, Dave was conversing with Natasha and Jesse about Kosovo. They were trying to hatch a plan to make Kosovo crack, but so far they had nothing.

"Wait a minute, doesn't he fear spiders?" Dave asked out of the blue.

"He does," Natasha said. "Why do you ask?"

"Maybe we could bring a tarantula into the room," Dave suggested.

"Who brings a tarantula onboard a helicarrier?" Jesse asked.

"We work for SHIELD," Dave pointed out. "Last I checked, they don't always play by the rules, especially when it involves keeping the world safe from bastards like Kosovo. If we get him to crack, we'll get Volchenkov."

"And by getting Volchenkov, we prevent a massive terrorist plot by Volchenkov and his maggots," Jesse said. "I'd say we capture a camel spider- those things will make almost anyone squirm!"

Dave stared wide-eyed at Jesse. "A _camel spider?! _Are you insane?!"

"Hey, those things are like the devil on eight legs," Jesse pointed out. "I overheard Owen talking about his tours overseas and those fuckin' things are_nasty._ If there's one in the area, the guns come out and everyone starts chasing them."

"But they move fast," Dave countered. "How would we catch one?"

"I'm sure we'll find a way," Jesse assured. "We have ways of catching slippery fuckers- we did just catch Kosovo."

Dave nodded in agreement and closed his eyes. He was worn out due to his adrenaline high being triggered by Kosovo's men, so he decided to sleep for a while.

* * *

Back on the helicarrier, Natalie and the others waited in the briefing room to hear from Fury. Maria was quietly studying her from afar, trying to figure her out. She was certainly way more than one would ever see. She was strong, intelligent, determined, and disciplined, which Maria loved most.

"Agent Hill," Natalie began calmly, "what has you so perplexed...?"

Maria looked away and mentally checked off "observant." "Nothing..."

Natalie smirked and turned her attention to Fury, who'd just entered the room.

"Alright, first thing- good work today," Fury began. "You helped us catch a dangerous fugitive and the right-hand man of Ilya Volchenkov."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but Natalie's mind was on catching Volchenkov. She zoned out briefly but was brought back to earth by Dave, who lightly elbowed her in the arm. "Hey, head up."

Natalie nodded and paid attention to Fury.

"However, our job is not over yet," Fury stated firmly. "We still have to catch Ilya Volchenkov and find the Goliath steroid before this mission is over. Miss Morgan, you're going to go with Shadowglass to question the doctor that broke into the research lab. Romanoff- you, Daedra, and Hill will be interrogating Kosovo. Shadowstep, you're going to be on observation with Velkan and Nikolai. If you find any sign of Volchenkov or his men, you are to alert SHIELD immediately."

"Yes sir," Evan replied.

"Copy that," Hill interjected.

Natalie nodded and stood up to leave, but was stopped by her cousin Velkan. "What's up, Vel?"

Velkan sighed before replying. "I'm new to observation ... what does that mean?"

Natalie grinned at her cousin. "It means that you're going to be keeping an eye out for anything or anyone that has something to do with Volchenkov and/or the steroid."

Velkan nodded his head in understanding. "Thanks; be safe out there."

"You too, kiddo," Natalie replied. "I'll see you later."

Velkan nodded once again and stood up to follow Nikolai and Evan. Natalie, on the other hand, rushed back to her quarters to change out of her suit and into something a little more casual.

"Natalie?" Maria hollered outside of Natalie's room, her voice stopping Natalie in her tracks.

"Agent Hill," Natalie huffed, "what can I do for you?"

"Just wanted to give you a few pointers on your target," Maria supplied.

"Which would be...?"

"He is highly paranoid and likely to be armed."

"Thought he was a doctor...?"

"He was, but now that he's with Volchenkov and his men, he's probably carrying a semi-automatic weapon."

"News flash- Serana has a rifle, and I have a shotgun."

"Don't kill him unless he tries to kill you."

Natalie stared at Maria as she pulled out her high collared shirt, jeans, boots, and sunglasses. "Who said I'd kill him?"

"I'm not worried about you killing him, I'm worried about Serana killing him after the questioning," Maria explained.

"If he tries anything, we'll cuff him and have Fury send someone to get us."

Maria sighed loudly as relief washed over her. "Promise me one more thing...?"

"Yeah..." Natalie replied softly.

"Watch your ass out there?" Maria asked in a hushed voice. "I'd hate to think about you getting hurt."

"You got it," Natalie replied. "Hey, shut the door for a minute?"

Maria raised an eyebrow but obliged nonetheless. "What's going on?"

Natalie sighed before she pulled Maria closer to her. "I know that you don't wanna think about that kind of thing ... but if something does happen to me out there... Promise me that you'll keep your cool...?"

Maria stared at Natalie in utter bewilderment. "What do you mean, 'if something happens?'"

"If I get shot or taken hostage," Natalie explained lightly. "Promise me that you'll keep your cool up here? I don't want you to get hurt because of me or go AWOL..."

"Who said that I'd lose it or go AWOL?" Maria scoffed.

"Just promise me that you'll keep your cool?" Natalie asked again.

Maria sighed heavily but nodded. "I'll do my best. Promise me that you'll watch your ass?"

Natalie grinned at her lover. "Of course."

Maria cracked a grin and placed a light kiss on Natalie's lips. "Thank you."

Natalie's grin widened before she pulled Maria in for another kiss. The older agent's lips were soft and the mere feeling of them against her own nearly set Natalie overboard. They remained in a heavy kiss before Maria finally pulled away and stared into Natalie's oceanic eyes.

"I'll keep my ears open," Maria murmured in Natalie's ear.

"Maria?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where Serana and I will be heading?"

"Liverpool; seems that the good doctor decided that staying in England was smarter."

"Or so he thought... When did SHIELD find him?"

"Only hours ago; Fury sent us the news when we were en route to the helicarrier."

Natalie nodded in understanding and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I will talk to you later, Agent Hill. Thank you."

Maria smirked as Natalie flipped her "professional" switch back on and followed her out of her quarters. "Be careful out there."

"I will," Natalie replied. "Don't kill Kosovo!"

Maria shook her head and headed to the interrogation chamber.

* * *

**Thanks for sticking with the story and for your follows, faves, and reviews! I apologize if anything is confusing right now- it will come together in the next few chapters. Please feel free to leave a review! :)**


	6. Interrogation and More

**Hey guys, thanks for sticking with the story! It means so much to me to have you guys following this story throughout everything. As promised, here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Kosovo's head hurt and he guessed that his ribs were cracked as well. The Russian struggled against his restraints, albeit to no avail- he couldn't slip the heavy irons that bound him to a chair. "Fuck..."

The door swung open and the light beyond it blinded him for a moment. After his eyes adjusted, he stared at three silhouettes that entered the room:

Maria entered the room first, her blue orbs focused on the subject. She knew almost everything about Kosovo, including how his brother Ivan was killed by Ben Richards several years beforehand.

Next to enter was Natasha, her hair a dark red shade that reminded Kosovo of what he'd seen when he'd learned of Ivan's brutal death. _She's beautiful,_ Kosovo thought to himself as Natasha leaned back against the wall and folded her arms over her chest.

The last one to enter was Dave, but he was wearing his heavy armor instead of something casual. The blood-colored trim clashed with the jet-black surface, and the armor itself reminded Kosovo of something that he'd seen in one of his nephew's videogames. Spikes protruded from the shoulders, knuckles, and spine on the armor, and the silver streaks that graced the edges mimicked chain links. Kosovo was now more nervous than before.

"Hello, old friend," Dave greeted nonchalantly.

Kosovo spat on the ground and glared at Dave. "You are no friend of mine."

Dave's sadistic side showed when he cracked a wolf-like grin and knelt in front of Kosovo. "Listen here, asshole- me and my lady friends here wanna know everything about Volchenkov. Don't tell us, and they leave and I torture you into submission."

Kosovo rolled his eyes, and that didn't go unnoticed by Maria and Natasha. Dave glanced at the two of them for approval, and when they both nodded, Dave grabbed Kosovo by the hair and wrenched his head back.

"Tell me about Volchenkov!" Dave growled. "Where is he? Where is he, Kosovo?!"

"You won't break me!" Kosovo snarled.

Dave smirked at the Russian mobster. "I could go and capture a few camel spiders and have them stashed in here with you."

"You wouldn't!" Kosovo fired back.

"Morgan," Maria piped up from the back of the room.

Dave sighed and stood up, clearly irritated with having to step back. "He's all yours."

Maria waltzed over to Kosovo and looked him in the eye, closely studying him. "Kosovo ... where do I start?"

"I could think of one place!" Kosovo smirked.

"Dude, you'll need a sign above _that_ that says 'choking hazard,'" Dave interjected. Maria glanced at him and he shut up.

"Sergei Kosovo, brother of Ivan and Viktor Kosovo," Maria rattled off. "Two arrests in Moscow, a POI in several international hits, and a key player in Volchenkov and Claybrook's mission for worldwide domination.

"You're married to Alyona Pavlovsky and are the father of two girls- Elenya, age ten, and Katyenka, age seven. Elenya is constantly at a level five grade in her classes and will more than likely be the top student in her class. Katyenka is a gifted pianist and could very well be groomed to be the next great Russian prodigy. Your wife is a school teacher at the Christian academy in Moscow."

Kosovo stared wide-eyed at Maria- how did she know all of this? "You leave my family out of this."

"Tell us where Volchenkov is and we will," Maria fired back.

"No- you must promise me that you won't hurt my wife and daughters," Kosovo replied coolly.

Dave rolled his eyes from behind Kosovo and knelt behind him. "This is the best shot you have, dude. If I were you, I'd take it!"

Kosovo headbutted Dave, who reacted quicker than Maria and Natasha expected:

Dave shook off the headbutt and swept the chair out from underneath Kosovo's feet. "If you wanna play a game, we can play a fuckin' game!"

"Morgan, outside!" Natasha barked.

Dave took one look at Natasha before he left the room. Kosovo's chest was hurting even more because of Dave kicking him out of his chair, but he masked the pain.

"Promise me that you won't hurt my family and that Ilya won't know what I told you," Kosovo half-pleaded.

The spark in his eyes was fear at its finest hour, which washed Natasha and Maria's minds over with relief.

"We won't tell Volchenkov anything," Maria vowed.

"Your wife and daughters will not be harmed," Natasha joined in. "Now tell us about Volchenkov."

Kosovo took a breath and exhaled. "Ilya Volchenkov ... they call him 'The Reaper,' and for good reason."

"Go on," Natasha urged.

"He's killed several people already with the steroid," Kosovo explained. "I was there for all but one of the 'experiments.'"

"Tell us more," Maria prodded.

"He grabbed the heavy mercenary last year ... he injected him with several dosages of the steroid, hoping that it would have the same effects that it did on Ben Richards.

"It went horribly wrong ... the mercenary was in a coma for several months, and when he woke up, he wasn't the same."

"Wasn't the same how?" Natasha asked.

"He was a lot stronger, but he was ruthless," Kosovo replied. "He ... he would kill anyone that got in his way, save for Volchenkov and Claybrook. He went on a rampage outside of Moscow and killed two dozen people. It was like he'd lost his mind to the steroid."

_Makes corrupt officials look decent,_ Maria thought to herself. "Where would Volchenkov hide?"

"He has a compound just outside of Novosibirsk," Kosovo replied honestly. "Please, that is all that I know!"

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Kosovo," Maria concluded before leaving the chamber with Natasha.

* * *

Dave waited on the bridge to hear from Natasha and Maria about the interrogation and if they'd found anything on Volchenkov. Ever since his abrupt departure about an hour before, he'd changed out of his armor, done some intel on the Goliath steroid, and spoken to Evan via radio to see if he'd found anything out. He was relieved when he spotted Natasha and Maria rounding the corner. "Has he said anything?"

"He gave Volchenkov up," Maria replied. "He also talked about the experiments on innocent civilians, including the heavy mercenary."

"Did he say where Volchenkov was hiding?" Dave asked.

"Outside of Novosibirsk," Natasha filled in. "He has a compound out there."

"Guess having a compound in Siberia during this time of year would make it easier to do horrendous stuff," Dave muttered. "Did he mention where the compound was in Novosibirsk...?

"'Just outside,'" Maria quoted. "We're going to have to do some serious digging to find it and send in an experienced team to find him ... Siberia is cold and unforgiving this time of year and it gets dark very quick."

Dave shot Maria a pointed look as if to say _no shit._ "Romanoff, any ideas on where to start?"

Natasha glanced out of the window before saying, "We should wait until we hear from Shadowglass and Morgan..."

"What if the doc doesn't give up Volchenkov?" Dave asked.

"Considering how your aunt and sister act towards hostiles, I'm pretty sure that the doc will give Volchenkov up," Maria interjected.

Dave took Maria's words to heart- it was no secret that Natalie and Serana were absolutely merciless towards enemies and persons of interest. _I hope that they don't bring him back in a body bag..._ Dave thought to himself as he trudged back to his quarters to try and clear his head. Before he even left the bridge, his tablet alerted him to a video call from Evan. "Hey."

_"Hey kiddo,"_ Evan answered. _"You anywhere near Fury?"_

"Not at the moment," Dave admitted. "I'm heading back to my quarters. What's up?"

_"Got a hit on Volchenkov,"_ Evan confirmed. _"We followed one of his goons to a compound __outside of Novosibirsk, Siberia. No visual confirmation yet, only communication."__  
_

"Dare I even ask?" Dave muttered.

_"Nikolai,"_ Evan replied simply. _"I'll talk to you guys later- get word to Fury about Volchenkov's whereabouts."_

"Understood," Dave replied before ending the call. He was rounding another corner when his cousin Jesse bumped into him.

* * *

Jesse was heading to the bridge to talk to Evan about something when he bumped into Dave. "Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Dave dismissed. "Hey, you mind going to the bridge and telling Hill that Shadowstep, Griffin, and Striga overheard Volchenkov communicating with his men outside of Novosibirsk...? I gotta tell Fury."

"Got it," Jesse agreed before bolting out of Dave's room.

The seventeen-year-old soon left his own quarters to find Fury, but when he arrived outside of Fury's quarters, he heard shouting. Shrugging it off, he forced the door open and came face-to-face with Fury and Ben. "Pardon the intrusion- Shadowstep and his team may have just found Volchenkov at a compound outside of Novosibirsk. Only thing they have to go off of is communications. They'll alert us when they see him."

"Thanks for the update," Fury said before getting out of his chair. "I'll see you on the bridge, Agent Morgan."

"Yes sir," Dave answered before leaving. With his blue eyes smoldering, he sprinted towards the bridge.

Upon Dave's arrival, a video call alert went off at one of the computers. With a grin, Dave tuned in eagerly to hear from his father and cousins.

"Hello Agent McTeague," Maria greeted.

_"Agent Hill,"_ Evan greeted curtly. _"My team has just received visual confirmation that Ilya Volchenkov is here in Novosibirsk."_

* * *

When Jesse got to the bridge, the sight that invaded his brown eyes caught him completely off-guard:

Evan, Velkan, and Nikolai were on a computer screen in front of Agent Hill, and the look that the ex-assassin had in his eyes set off Jesse's internal alarms.

"Guys?!" Jesse demanded as he leaped over the central control of the bridge.

_"Got visual confirmation on Volchenkov,"_ Evan told his nephew. _"He's holed up in a compound in Novosibirsk, Siberia. Guards are all over the place with heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft."_

"How bad is it?" Maria asked as she began pulling up Evan's GPS on a tablet.

_"Look for yourself," _Velkan answered. Jesse and the others watched in awe as the sixteen-year-old turned his tablet to show Maria and other SHIELD personnel the compound. Silhouettes of mercenaries paced across the platforms outside of the compound. Just as Velkan went to turn his tablet back around to face him, a laser danced across the screen.

"Vel-!" Dave cried out, but it was too late- the sniper had fired his weapon, and the round barely missed Velkan.

_"SHIT!"_ Velkan yelled as he darted behind a rock.

_"STAY DOWN!"_ Evan barked as he raised his sniper rifle. He focused on the target and took a deep breath, somehow calm despite almost getting shot. _"C'mon, asshole, show me your face..."_

* * *

**Sorry about the cliffy, I had to be somewhat devious. xD We will find out more next chapter (another filler, sorry!) Anyways, please feel free to drop a review! Thanks for sticking with this story!**


	7. Bullets, Fights, and Subtlety

**Hey everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season! This is the last filler chapter so that the plot comes together, so please bear with me. :)  
As always, thanks for your reviews, follows, and faves! I greatly appreciate it.**

* * *

"SHIT!" Evan yelled as another bullet zinged past him, catching him off guard. He prayed that he could kill the other sniper before they killed him, Nikolai, or Velkan. He scanned the area once more but found no trace of the sniper. "C'mon, asshole! Come on out and play!"

Velkan had crawled next to his uncle to give him his firearm when a fiery pain rippled through his chest and left arm, kicking the breath from his lungs. "Son of a-!"

"VEL?!" Evan hollered, dropping down behind the boulder and giving his nephew a once-over.

"I'll be fine; focus on that sniper!" Velkan grunted as he stuck his fingers into the hole in his vest. He winced in pain as he tore the 30.06 round out of his vest and stuffed it in his pants pocket. He was definitely lucky that he wasn't bleeding, but he knew that his collarbone was cracked and his ribs were more than likely bruised due to the impact.

_"Agent McTeague, report!"_ Maria demanded, her voice flooding with anxiety.

"Man down!" Evan managed to reply as he began dragging Velkan behind cover. "We need medical extraction _now!"_

"Fuck that," Velkan shouted, "take out that sniper!"

Nikolai had been scanning his surroundings and found the sniper in a flash. With a sadistic grin, he grabbed Evan's rifle and aimed it at the hostile. His finger suffocated the trigger as he sucked in his breath.

_BOOM!_

"Night, asshole," Nikolai murmured proudly as the sniper crumpled to the ground.

"Good work, Nicky," Velkan grunted, still seething from the impact of the round.

"Plot twist- it was a tranquilizer round!" Nikolai declared, making Velkan grin despite the pain that he was enduring.

"Go get him then, yeah?" Evan suggested as he pulled a bandage out of his pack and wrapped it around Velkan's chest.

Nikolai rolled his eyes and snuck off to grab the unconscious sniper.

* * *

Back on the helicarrier, Maria waited to hear from the doctors about Velkan's condition. She hoped that he wasn't badly injured- the last thing that they needed was to be down one teammate. The sound of heavy boots against the concrete caught her attention. Seconds later, Velkan's brother Malacath, aka Nocturnus, bolted around the corner like a lightning strike on a wild, stormy night.

"How is he?" Malacath panted, skidding to a stop in front of Maria.

"Cracked collarbone and bruised ribs," Maria filled in. "No organ damage or internal bleeding, so he's just fine."

Malacath exhaled loudly and locked eyes with Maria. "Forgive me, but what about the sniper? Has he said anything?"

"Still unconscious," Maria replied. "We will be sending in Agent Romanoff to interrogate him."

Malacath felt anger coursing through his veins like hot gasoline. "No, I want a piece of him!"

"Your emotions are out of control at the moment," Maria said firmly. "We can't have an emotionally unstable agent interrogating a suspect."

"Yet you let Daedra interrogate Kosovo and he almost killed the son of a bitch!" Malacath fired back venomously.

"He was ordered by Fury to aid Romanoff and myself in the interrogation!" Maria spat. "After he injured Kosovo, he was ordered to leave the room."

Malacath took a step back, clearly defeated by Maria's words. "May I at least make a recommendation...?"

Maria closed her eyes and thought about it for a moment. On one hand, having someone that was close to Velkan in some way was dangerous, but on the other hand, it could prove to be useful. "Why not- who's on your mind...?"

"Perhaps send in Ben and Serana...?" Malacath trailed off. "They could easily break this guy."

"Shadowglass is still on assignment," Maria reminded Malacath. "Perhaps we could send in Red Eagle...?"

Malacath's face contorted into the most ridiculous look of confusion that Maria had ever seen. "Are you kidding?! He wouldn't get that far with him!"

"They do have history," Maria said, only realizing her mistake. _Shit._

"Maybe sending him in isn't the best idea- Romanoff and yourself might be the best at handling this," Malacath suggested, admitting defeat for the first time in a while. His pride and stubbornness often brought him trouble, but he usually didn't care.

Maria was taken aback at the fifteen-year-old's suggestion. "I'll let you know what happens."

"Thank you," Malacath replied. With a heavy heart, he turned away from Maria and made a beeline for his quarters to contact his mother.

* * *

**London, England**

"Any ideas on how to find this guy?" Natalie asked Serana.

Serana glanced at her niece and smirked. "First thing we need to do is blend in- we don't want to spook him."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "So we have to look like fuckin' tourists?"

"More you than I, but yes," Serana answered. "There's a shopping bag on your bed. Get dressed and meet me on the balcony."

A heated breath whistled through Natalie's teeth. _Of all the things, I had to be a goddamn tourist. Serana is lucky that she can blend in what with her being from Scotland._ With angry, smoldering flames rising in her blue orbs, Natalie grabbed the shopping bag and rushed to the bathroom. She emerged five minutes later, wearing an "I (heart) London" sweatshirt, a new pair of designer jeans, and chic black boots. Her hair was still shaggy and her eyes smoldering, so she pulled her aviator sunglasses over her nose and trudged outside to Serana. "Now what?"

"We hit the local area and pretend to shop," Serana answered. "Keep your wits about you and stay close. If someone asks you your name, use one of the covers."

"Got it," Natalie replied. "Anything else?"

"Tell me if you see anything suspicious," Serana advised, "but try to be subtle."

"How the hell am I supposed to be subtle if I see Doctor What's-His-Face?"

"Schmidt, and I'm sure you'll figure it out. Let's go."

Natalie romped out of the hotel room after her aunt and said nothing more. She really didn't like being a sitting duck.

"Here we are," Serana said, stopping outside of their rental, a BMW. "Hey, everything here is backwards for the most part, so it may be best if-"

"-you drive. Got it," Natalie grumbled.

Serana rolled her eyes and clambered behind the wheel. "Head in the game, Chaos. We can't work well if one of us isn't mentally there."

"Shadowglass," Natalie started, "I'm just unsure as to how the hell we're going to find Schmidt in a shopping area. I thought he was a shut-in...?"

Serana took Natalie's words to heart. "He's used to the area- doubt the bobbies will be after him."

"'Bobbies?'" Natalie asked.

"Police," Serana explained, "and I'm certain that Cambridge didn't publicly name Schmidt as the thief."

"Gotcha," Natalie nodded. "We need a plan B, just in case, yah know, shit hits the fan."

"Improvise," Serana answered shortly.

Natalie's hand smacked against her forehead. "How are we going to improvise in a very populated area?"

"Think fast," Serana answered. "Alright, we're here- keep your wits about you, yeah?"

"Of course," Natalie replied as she clambered out of the car. She'd memorized Schmidt's photograph and thought of any alterations that he would've made. She started to mingle at the local clothing store, taking in the sleek leather jackets that were undoubtedly punk-rock style. She carefully moved about the shop, her eyes shifting every so often to see if Schmidt had shown up.

She was "taking in" a black jacket when someone ran into her. "Oh, I am so sorry! Are you-?"

It took Natalie a second to process the fact that the person that had bumped into her was Schmidt, and in the blink of an eye, he had already dipped out of the shop.

"Hey Rana," Natalie began, glancing at Serana, "I still feel like shit- I should go see a doctor."

"C'mon, I'll try to cut him off!" Serana caught on, ushering Natalie outside.

"Watch your ass!" Natalie answered. She sprinted as fast as she could, her legs carrying her across the pavement. She pushed shoppers out of the way, muttering small apologies as she continued on her path towards Schmidt. "Hey, stop!"

Schmidt took one look back at Natalie and lost focus for a moment; in a flash, Serana had leaped onto him and knocked him down. "Stay down, asshole!"

"You good?" Natalie asked, skidding to a stop just inches from Serana and Schmidt.

"Yeah; nice work with the subtlety there, kid!" Serana cheered. "C'mon Schmidt, you're under arrest."

"Fuck you," Schmidt spat, glaring at Serana.

"I'm not into douche bags," Serana answered coolly, "and you're not my partner's type, so don't even go there."

Natalie couldn't help but grin as she helped Serana escort Schmidt to their BMW. "You so much as move in this car, I will kill you."

"You don't have the stomach," Schmidt spat as Serana shoved him into the car.

"Try me," Natalie replied smoothly, flashing her .44 magnum pistol. Schmidt shut his mouth after that, terrified of Natalie.

"Let's get outta here," Serana suggested.

"Right behind you," Natalie agreed, sliding into the passenger seat of the car. She was glad that Schmidt had been caught, and once they were done interrogating him, she could hopefully spend some time with Maria. Her grin faded when she got a message from Dave:

_Velkan's been shot by a sniper. I will pick you, Serana, and Schmidt up at the hotel. Tell you more soon._

"Extraction at the hotel," Natalie told Serana.

"That quick?" Serana remarked.

"You know these guys catch on fast," Natalie whispered. "Focus on driving."

"Keep Schmidt calm, yeah?" Serana asked.

"Thought you'd never ask."

Schmidt was about to say something when Natalie pointed her gun at his groin. His eyes went wide and his heart began to race at the thought of losing his manhood.

"One word, and your boys go boom," Natalie said calmly, not even turning to face Schmidt. He lowered his head as Serana pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. Natalie didn't move her pistol even while Serana had pulled Schmidt out of the car and shoved him into the black car that was undoubtedly driven by Dave.

"That was quick," Serana quietly remarked as Dave pulled away.

"GPS," Dave answered shortly. "Ben dropped me off in the outskirts of London; he'll pick us up in ten minutes."

"Where are we-?" Schmidt had managed to squeak before Natalie sent a back fist to his face, bloodying his lip and nose.

"Shut up," Natalie advised, placing her gun point-blank against Schmidt's groin. He let out a whimper before silencing himself.

* * *

**Sorry about the wait- I just went on break from school. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! I will update very soon, perhaps even today! Thanks for your views and reviews!**

**Happy Holidays! :)**


	8. Duty Calls

**Hey everyone, thanks for your follows, faves, reviews, and views! Now that I've gone on break for a while, I have more time to update! Yay!**

**Enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

**SHIELD Helicarrier**

"Good work on finding the doctor," Fury praised when Natalie and Serana entered his quarters.

"We had great timing," Serana answered. "Great intel led us right to him- we weren't even in the shop for two minutes when we spotted him."

"I heard," Fury said. "I must say that your subtlety wasn't too bad, Morgan."

"Following orders, sir," Natalie replied. "Has he said anything?"

"Nothing about the steroid, but he did mention that you'd told him that his, and I quote, 'boys will go boom.'"

"He was getting a little ... loud," Natalie answered. "It was the best option to get him to shut up."

"What's next?" Serana asked.

"You go to the infirmary to be with Striga," Fury answered.

"How bad is it?" Serana demanded.

"Nothing serious- just a few bruised ribs and cracked collarbone," Fury assured her.

"Did you at least get the guy that shot him?" Serana asked.

"Yep; Romanoff is interrogating him right now," Fury replied coolly. "Both of you are dismissed for the evening."

"Thank you sir," Natalie and Serana replied in unison.

* * *

Natalie had spent the last hour and a half laying on her bed, thinking about the events that had turned her family's lives upside down.

Bobby Claybrook had reemerged, hell-bent on domination, and tried to kill her and her cousins.

Velkan had taken two 30.06 rounds to the chest, one lodging itself in his vest and cracking his collarbone, the other repelled and bruising his ribs.

Dave had apparently lost his mind with Kosovo and knocked him out of his chair, only to be shooed from the room by Maria and Natasha.

Jesse took on Johnny Charles, who'd been armed with a minigun at that time.

Ben cursed over the comms when Volchenkov got away.

Schmidt had tried to run away from her and Serana, only to get caught.

She'd been introduced to Maria Hill, kissed her senseless, been busted by Coulson while kissing Maria, and gone after Kosovo and Volchenkov.

_Maria..._ Natalie thought to herself, the thought of the older agent making her heart flutter.

She'd been holding that thought when someone knocked on her door. "Come in!"

Maria opened the door and found her lover laying in her bed, a grin plastered to her face as she stared at the ceiling. "Hey."

Natalie shot up out of bed and bolted towards Maria. The older agent caught Natalie in her arms and held her close, taking in her scent. She'd been anxious to get off duty for a while so that she could spend time with her lover.

"Holy shit, I missed you like crazy!" Natalie admitted, pulling away from Maria and shutting her door.

"Did you now?" Maria asked.

Natalie shook her head and pulled Maria close. "I swear I almost lost my mind being in London with Serana."

"How do you mean...?" Maria trailed off.

Natalie grinned at her lover. "I wanted us to find Schmidt and bring him back here so that I could at least _see_ you."

Maria was touched by Natalie's words. "You're amazing."

"Look in the mirror?" Natalie asked.

Maria's confusion lasted long enough for Natalie to pull her into a kiss. Her lips were softer than Maria remembered, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. She placed her arms around Natalie's waist and pushed her gently against the wall, deepening the kiss as she did so. When they broke apart to catch their breath, they gazed at each other lovingly. Natalie moved to lock the door to prevent anyone from disturbing them- particularly Coulson.

"Music?" Natalie asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Maria retorted.

Natalie grinned and snatched up the remote for her CD player. "You'll love this."

Maria was confused for a second, but once the all-too-familiar tune of Breaking Benjamin's "Forever" began playing, she couldn't help but grin. "You just had to choose this one, didn't you?"

Natalie didn't hold back; she pulled Maria close and held her there. "I need you."

"What?" Maria asked, caught completely off guard.

"I need you," Natalie repeated. "I need you, Maria Hill. How I feel about you ... I won't find the right words to say it. I-"

Maria cut Natalie's statement short with a kiss. She needed Natalie just as much as Natalie needed her. Her heart shattered at the mere thought of losing her. They spent the entirety of the song wrapped in each other's arms.

Maria grew aroused as the faint smell of coconut invaded her nostrils, and she tried to drive her naughty thoughts out of her mind.

Natalie's heart fluttered when she got a whiff of Maria's lavender scent, and the visuals that she got almost pushed her over the edge.

The sudden sound of loud guitars caught Maria and Natalie off guard and forced them apart.

"What the hell?" Maria wondered aloud.

"Sorry..." Natalie replied sheepishly.

_"Grab her ass, actin' tough, mess with her, she'll fuck you up!"_ the CD player blared.

"Theory of a Deadman, eh?" Maria asked a now-red-faced Natalie.

"Yeah ... forgot to hit repeat on the remote," Natalie finally admitted, her face now flooding with dark red embarrassment.

"That's alright; I like Theory of a Deadman," Maria disclosed.

"Do you now?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah; this is my fave song by them along with 'Bitch Came Back.'"

"Ooh, not bad! I used to blast that song around my ex all the time- she was a complete bitch."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah; she once yelled 'fuck you' in class and I just laughed at her. Felt bad for only a moment."

"That bad, huh?"

"She tried to out me when I wasn't ready and sent her best friend- I mean bitch- to try and fight me."

Maria laughed out loud at Natalie's explanation. "What happened with her?"

"Knocked her flat on her ass," Natalie disclosed. "But I'm more focused on more important people now... You, for example."

Maria had managed to crack a grin before Natalie kissed her again. This one was softer than the others, full of emotion, and it almost set Maria off. She instantly deepened the kiss and ever so gently started to push Natalie towards her bed. She didn't want the moment to end. Out of nowhere, Natalie pulled back, which upset Maria.

"You want a drink, babe?" Natalie murmured, using the term for the first time in three years.

"Sure ... babe..." Maria trailed off, wondering what Natalie was up to.

Natalie cracked a dopey grin and opened up what Maria had thought was the hard drive to her computer, but was actually an incognito mini fridge. "What's your poison, baby?"

Maria stared at the fridge and noticed that Natalie had quite the collection of drinks- pop, iced coffee, energy drinks, iced water, and milk shakes. She was actually surprised that Natalie didn't have any alcohol given her slightly rebellious nature. Maria pointed at a pop bottle and Natalie handed it to her in a flash. Their fingers touched when the bottle swap occurred, sending a lightning bolt of emotions through both of their veins. Maria grinned before she brought the bottle to her lips, savoring the lemon-lime flavor that echoed through the drink. She then realized how thirsty she was and began taking heavy gulps, and Natalie decided to be a jokester and started pumping her fist.

"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!" Natalie cheered playfully, earning a half-amused grin from Maria as she downed the drink.

"You act like we're at a drinking contest," Maria joked as she set down her mostly-empty bottle.

"You just chugged three quarters of a fucking pop bottle," Natalie pointed out, "and I must say that I'm really impressed. You put my father and I to shame when it comes to chugging drinks."

Maria laughed at Natalie's remarks. "Only difference is that your father probably drinks heavy alcohol and you stick with cola."

Natalie smirked at Maria's response. "Not every time ... I've had some alcohol before. Mind you, I was under heavy supervision and didn't leave the house!"

"And here I was thinking that you were this rebellious teenage girl that brought booze everywhere!" Maria retorted.

"I'm surprised that Serana didn't let slip that I'd been drinking with Jesse and the others on New Year's while our parents were out," Natalie supplied. "Jesse had gone and purchased replacement booze, but Nikolai's lightweight ass had wandered out into the garage right as our parents were pulling in, which got us busted. I was about sixteen at the time."

"Wait, you drank behind your parents' backs?!" Maria nearly shrieked.

"Oops," Natalie shrugged nonchalantly. "Only person to get even remotely tipsy was Nikolai, and that was _funny!"_

"He could've gotten hurt!" Maria countered.

"But he didn't!" Natalie pointed out. "He just got tipsy. We kept an eye on him and made sure that he didn't leave or throw up in his sleep. Jesse cut him off when his speech started to slur and made sure that he ate."

"And you didn't get tipsy?" Maria questioned.

"Half Norwegian," Natalie pointed out, "which means that I evidently have a fucking cast iron liver ... however, after that, none of us had more than two drinks ever again."

"Sounds like you learned the hard way," Maria teased. Natalie's eyebrow shot up instantaneously and her light blue eyes were full of mischief.

"Not my fault Nikolai is a fucking lightweight!" Natalie fired back, holding back the smirk that tugged on her lips. "Nor did any of us know that he was going to stumble into the garage!"

"Suuure...!" Maria giggled, winking at Natalie.

Natalie's brow rumpled like a dented car as waves of slight irritation flashed over her face. She was about to say something when Maria crashed their lips together, catching the eighteen-year-old off guard. Natalie deepened the kiss and steered Maria toward her bed with ease, a smile tugging at her mouth.

They broke apart when Natalie lifted Maria into her arms and gently laid her on the bed, pale blue eyes piercing the gaze of orbs in a blue-green sea.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" Natalie remarked, the taste of Maria's lips on her own still lingering.

"Maybe," Maria purred, nearly setting Maria off.

"Are you trying to set me off?" Natalie asked.

"Not really..." Maria trailed off in confusion.

Natalie chuckled and hit "skip forward" on her stereo remote. Moments later, both her and Maria's ears were invaded by a smooth, symphonic metal song that Maria didn't recognize.

"Evanescence?" Maria guessed.

"Nope, Nightwish!" Natalie declared. "Ben used to play this song in concert with his band, and Dad used to sing this to Dave and I when we were real young."

Maria closed her eyes, taking in the sweet sound.

"...the sun is sleeping quietly, once upon a century... Wistful oceans calm and red, ardent caresses laid to rest..." Natalie sang softly, slightly losing herself in the song. She was brought back to reality by Maria, who pulled her flat against her body and into another kiss. A grin stretched across the teen's lips as her heart slowly morphed into a pair of hummingbird wings. Hell, Maria's touch alone sent Natalie into overdrive, and the teen slowly leaned back for a moment and gazed at her lover. Her grin was dopey and Maria found it adorable. Silence followed when Natalie turned off her music, surprising Maria. Natalie seized the opportunity and left a trail of steaming kisses down Maria's jawline, stopping at the pulse point.

"... Natalie..." Maria trailed off, feeling her body temperature rise. Her head arched back at the feeling of Natalie's lips on her throat, and Natalie enjoyed it.

"Mmm..." Natalie murmured, stopping for a moment and glancing up at Maria. She noticed the spark of desperation in Maria's eyes and grinned like a madman. Her body snaked across her bed and out of nowhere, Maria's pager went off, surprising both of them.

"I'm sorry..." Maria trailed off, checking her pager. Sure enough, Fury had paged her, and it pissed her off as she'd been hoping to spend the night having fun with Natalie.

"Fury?" Natalie deduced, her voice thickened with venom.

"As always..." Maria sighed, rolling her eyes. She'd been looking forward to spending time with Natalie, and as always something else had interrupted it.

"Go," Natalie urged, planting a light kiss on Maria's cheek. "I'll be here waiting for you, babe."

"You sure?" Maria asked, raising a brown eyebrow at Natalie.

"I'm absolutely certain," Natalie answered, wrapping her arms around Maria's shoulders. "Duty calls, soldier."

"Hey!" Maria fired, playfully swatting Natalie's arm. Natalie only stuck her tongue out at Maria and leaped off the bed.

"Don't get me wrong, I hate having to see you go," Natalie began, glancing briefly at the floor, "but there's a psycho mobster that needs to be caught. If Fury needs you to help out with that, then so be it."

Maria's brow rumpled at Natalie's statement- did she really place her feelings for Maria below the mission? "What are you gonna do?"

"Listen to the radio," Natalie responded. "If shit hits the fan, I will hop on one of those quinjets and fly to you and whomever else you're with."

Maria was in shock- Natalie would hijack a quinjet and fly out to her if something happened? _I'm not sure what to think of that..._ Maria's subconscious echoed as the older agent fixed her hair (it had started falling out of its bun when she and Natalie had gotten onto Natalie's bed and kissed one another fiercely.) "I'd rather you not hijack a quinjet..."

Natalie shook her head and smirked. "If that asshole so much as touches you, I'm comin' out there!"

Maria grinned at Natalie's statement and pranced over to the door. "I'll keep you updated."

"I'll be listening in on comms," Natalie remarked, joining Maria at the door. "Be safe out there, yeah?"

"Of course," Maria responded, placing her hand on the younger agent's shoulder.

Natalie shrugged Maria's hand off and pulled her into a kiss. She really didn't want Maria to leave, but she had no choice- duty had called, and Maria had to answer.

"I'll see you later," Maria murmured, embracing Natalie one last time before she left. Natalie managed to crack a small grin before she headed out to the bridge.

* * *

**So there's chapter eight (8!) Hope you guys enjoyed, and I will definitely start the next chapter soon! Thank you for your views, faves/follows, and reviews! :D**


	9. Agent Down

**Hey guys, thanks for sticking with the story! I am so sorry I didn't update sooner- I had writers block and was also dealing with some personal stuff. Anyhoo, here's the next installment! Enjoy!**

* * *

Natalie had been saddened that Maria had been called away for a mission, but she brushed it off. _If having her out there on the front lines helps SHIELD catch Volchenkov and his maggots, then so be it,_ she thought to herself as she plopped down in a chair on the bridge. She didn't know any details regarding the mission, but she wanted to listen in on _everything _so that she would know what was happening. She jammed an earwig into her ear and ran a quick audio test to make sure that everything was clear.

_"O'Malley to Fury, do you copy?"_ Connor asked over the comms, his voice soothing Natalie somewhat.

_"This is Director Fury, I copy,"_ Fury responded immediately.

_"We are ten minutes away from insertion, over!"_ Connor informed, his news startling Natalie a little.

_"Copy that; Fury over and out!"_ Fury declared, ending the transmission between himself and Evan. Natalie wished that she'd known more about the mission, and she kicked herself for not going to the briefing room with Maria.

_"Hill to O'Malley, Team One is on the move, over!"_ Maria relayed, her voice calming Natalie's raging emotions and concerns.

_"O'Malley to Hill, you are clear to engage, over!"_ Connor responded instantaneously. Natalie's hands balled into fists as she waited to hear more, praying that everything would go smoothly.

* * *

**Outskirts of Novosibirsk, Siberia- 10 P.M.**

Maria waited impatiently for her team's insertion into the hot zone. She wanted to help capture Volchenkov and bring him to justice for what he'd done to countless innocents _and_ for attempting harm on Natalie. _Wow,_ her subconscious echoed, _we haven't even been together for a day and here I am going crazy for her! _She shook her head to clear her mind and shifted her focus to the mission at hand. Due to the chances of the Goliath steroid being used on anybody, Fury had teamed Maria up with Evan, Ben, Connor, Natasha, and Nikolai. Connor was responsible for insertion and extraction, Ben was the designated team medic, and Maria was the team leader. Nikolai had brought along his sniper rifle as well as an M4A1 semi-automatic rifle. Ben had deactivated his suit's needles just in case someone had been exposed to the steroid, giving the team an advantage. Evan had brought along his knives, a Beretta M92 pistol, and a shotgun (he was hoping to primarily use stealth;) Maria had her sidearm and a semi-automatic rifle. Their mission was to capture Volchenkov, Claybrook, and as many of their lieutenants as they could. Her mind wandered to Natalie and she wondered if the younger agent was really listening in on their comms. Her shift in focus brought her peace and she finally relaxed for the first time since leaving the Helicarrier for this mission.

"Let's rock and roll!" Evan ordered, bringing Maria back to earth. The brunette agent stood tall and approached the rear of the quinjet, anxious to get the mission started. She had her concerns but had locked them away in her mind before the quinjet had even taken off for Novosibirsk. Without a word, Maria leaped out of the quinjet, followed by Nikolai, Evan, and Ben.

"Hill to O'Malley, Team One is on the move, over!" Maria informed, keeping a low profile as she and the others snaked their way towards the compound.

"O'Malley to Hill, you are clear to engage, over!" Connor replied, giving Maria and the others the all-clear. Maria and the others moved swiftly into the compound, maintaining a low profile at all times. They waited outside of one of the warehouses, their weapons at the ready. Nikolai had taken up the rear and thrown what appeared to be a Nerf ball through the window.

"What are we lookin' at in there, Nicky?" Evan asked, glancing at Nikolai briefly.

"Twenty hostiles, all armed," Nikolai replied, controlling the ball with the keypad. "Hang on a sec..."

Maria raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Nikolai for a moment, anxious for answers. "What is it?"

A sadistic grin stretched across Nikolai's lips. "We got Volchenkov and Claybrook!"

Evan clenched his fist in victory. "Alright; let's bring them in!"

Maria smirked at Evan's enthusiasm and turned to face the door, her rifle at the ready. "Get into position."

"Copy that," Evan responded. He was oddly excited about confronting Volchenkov, but Maria and the others ignored that.

_"O'Malley to Hill, do you copy?"_ Connor radioed in, his voice snagging Maria's attention immediately.

"Go ahead," Maria responded, pressing one of her fingers to her ear piece.

_"Volchenkov is heavily armed,"_ Connor warned, his voice flooded with concern, _"and his men have been subjected to the steroid. Exercise caution, over!"_

"Copy that," Maria answered, "Hill over and out!"

Maria signaled for the others to ready up, keeping her eyes and her rifle trained on the doorway. Her mind was focused on only one thing: capturing Volchenkov and his cohorts. She inhaled sharply, stepped back, and rammed her foot into the door, knocking it off of its hinges with surprising ease.

"ILYA VOLCHENKOV, BOBBY CLAYBROOK, STOP!" Maria ordered sharply, keeping her gun trained on the Russian and his British cohort.

_Bang! Bang-bang-bang!_

"Shit!" Maria cursed, ducking behind a wooden crate to dodge Claybrook's shots.

"Stay down!" Evan ordered, sliding on his hip next to Maria. The assassin then popped his head up and fired off several shots, each one finding its mark. Eight mercenaries crumpled to the ground as a result, and Evan grinned like a madman. He glanced to his right for a moment and spotted Nikolai picking off a few hostiles, his eye fixed into the scope on his M4A1 rifle as he popped off one shot after another. Three more dropped as a result of Nikolai's sniping, but that didn't change anything- Claybrook and Volchenkov were still fighting, and Evan chose to engage both of them.

The forty-two-year-old leaped towards Claybrook with extreme agility, landing on his hands like a cat would land on a shelf. His hazel eyes were burning with determination as he dodged the rest of the mercenaries and kept moving, making it difficult for Claybrook to land a solid shot. The dark haired Englishman dropped his weapon and tried to run, hoping that it would take the heat off of Volchenkov for a moment. Much to his displeasure, Evan followed suit, and within the span of a few short moments, the Scot had landed on Claybrook, wrapping his legs around his torso. Claybrook began to struggle underneath Evan's grasp, trying to shake the shorter man off of him, but his efforts only angered Evan further. With his teeth bared, Evan shifted his body and swung his legs over Claybrook's head, pulling the Englishman to the ground with extreme ease. Evan followed up with a heel kick to Claybrook's head, knocking him out instantly.

* * *

While Evan was battling Claybrook, Maria had advanced on Volchenkov, keeping her head down to avoid getting shot. Volchenkov was now outnumbered thanks to the effort of all involved, but that didn't force the Russian to surrender. The brunette grit her teeth in focus and advanced further, scanning her surroundings as she did so. The only things that she'd seen so far were the bodies of mercenaries that had been introduced to a .556 round (courtesy of Nikolai and/or Evan,) so she pushed on. She glanced momentarily to her right when she heard a loud thud, and it gave Volchenkov enough time to act.

The alarm began blaring and Volchenkov aimed his rifle at Maria, his shot lined up perfectly on the unsuspecting brunette's torso. With a devious grin, Volchenkov fired, and the round hit Maria square in the left side of her chest. She went down instantly, crying out in pain and gaining Evan's attention.

"Shit!" Evan swore, rushing towards Maria. Ben had seen the entire event and sprinted after Volchenkov, his light armor enabling him to move so quick that one would have thought that he was a lightning bolt.

"I'll be fine, go!" Maria urged, not wanting Volchenkov to escape.

"O'Malley," Evan radioed in, "do you copy? Agent Hill is down. I repeat- Agent Hill is down! We need medical evac _now!"_

* * *

**Sorry about the cliffhanger- I promise that I will make it up to you guys! Please feel free to leave a review! :D**


	10. Angst, Rescue, and Hope

**Hey guys, apologies for that cliffhanger- I needed to be a little evil. Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

_"O'Malley, do you copy?"_ Evan asked frantically, his tone scaring Natalie senseless. _"Agent Hill is down. I repeat- Agent Hill is down! We need medical evac _now!"

"Fuck!" Natalie swore, her eyes burning with anger. With a nasty growl, Natalie scrambled off of the bridge to the hangar bay. Maria was down and it pissed off the eighteen-year-old so badly that she was literally out for blood. She was wearing her leather bomber jacket, black combat boots, cargo pants, and a black t-shirt. Her eyes were covered by her aviator sunglasses, preventing anyone else from seeing her anger. Her heart raging, Natalie leaped onto the nearest available quinjet and went straight to the cockpit.

"Hey-!" a SHIELD mechanic began, rushing towards Natalie.

"I do _not_ have time for this!" Natalie snarled, pulling her .45 caliber pistol out of its holster. "Agent McTeague has called for medical evac! There is an agent down; now get the _fuck_ off of this thing before I blast you!"

The mechanic backed off and got as far away from the quinjet as he could. Natalie slid her pistol back into her holster and fired up the quinjet's engines, her eyes burning with fury behind her sunglasses.

"Agent McTeague, medical evac is en route. Maintain your position and keep your head down," Natalie radioed in before punching the accelerator on the quinjet. The sudden change in velocity forced Natalie back into her seat, but she didn't care- she had to get to Maria.

* * *

"Where are we on that medical evac, Connor?" Evan asked again from behind a shipping container, maintaining pressure on Maria's wounds. The brunette was seething and Evan was starting to worry that Volchenkov had found the quinjet and attacked it given that Connor was unable to respond. "Red Eagle, report!"

_"Agent McTeague,__"_ an all-too-familiar female voice rang, _"medical evac is en route. Maintain your position and keep your head down."_

Evan shook his head and focused on keeping Maria out of the line of fire. Six hostiles remained, and Evan's blood ran cold when he realized that he was surrounded. "Don't move..."

"McTeague..." Maria trailed off, starting to lose consciousness as a result of heavy blood loss. She wanted to tell him about her and Natalie, but her strength was draining quickly.

"Help's on the way," Evan assured, looking Maria in the eye. "Hang in there."

Maria groaned as Evan set his vest on Maria's wounds and pressed his foot on it before popping his head around the corner of the container.

_Bang! Bang-bang! Bang-bang-bang!_

Four of the six hostiles dropped instantly, having been gifted with a .556 round from Evan's rifle. He glanced back at Maria just in time to catch one of the heavy mercenaries approaching. He had to make a judgement call- kill the heavy mercenary and leave Maria open to another potential attack, or stay with her and risk getting both of them killed.

"God forgive me," Evan muttered, turning on his heel and rushing towards the heavy mercenary.

* * *

Ben had been chasing Volchenkov ever since he'd seen him shoot Maria, and the forty-year-old's shorter stature, quicker speed, and high stamina levels made it easier to chase Volchenkov and avoid being shot. He was literally seeing red as he shot a ball of fire at Volchenkov's personal guards, burning them both severely before they crumpled to the ground. Ben's teeth clenched in focus as he tore after Volchenkov, keeping the Russian in his sights at all times. Volchenkov had taken a sudden turn and leaped onto the floor, which was a big mistake on his part:

Ben stayed up top and utilized his parkour training to stay near Volchenkov, leaping over containers and other objects with extreme ease. His honed skills allowed him to not only stay near Volchenkov, but to catch up to him outside of the compound. Unbeknownst to the shorter man, several mercenaries had surrounded him and Volchenkov, and Ben began to panic on the inside. His teeth bared, Ben fired a plasma burst at the nearest mercenaries, hitting them with a force that was equal to being shocked by 1,000 volts of electricity and leaving them with severe burns.

_"Ben, get down!"_ Natalie's voice ordered, stopping everyone for a moment. Ben glanced up for a moment and noticed the quinjet that had "Parasite" by Disturbed pounding through the speakers. Ben ducked out of the way and leaped onto the fire escape of the compound, giving Natalie enough time to light up the mercenaries. Several thuds followed suit as the bodies of the mercenaries fell to the ground. Volchenkov took off and Ben followed suit, moving as quickly as he could.

The Russian reached a helicopter and tried to enter it, only to have Ben leap onto him, knocking him down instantly. Ben followed up with two heel kicks to Volchenkov's head, knocking the bigger man out immediately.

* * *

Natalie had hauled ass to the compound and decided that due to the amount of enemies and Maria's current condition, she would have to use the heavy machine gun on the quinjet. With a murderous glint in her eyes, she cranked up the sound system on the quinjet as a distraction before unleashing the heavy machine gun. Disturbed's "Parasite" pounded through the speakers, giving Natalie a mental edge. Her first targets were the mercenaries that had swarmed the outside of the compound, overwhelming Ben and giving Volchenkov an advantage.

"Ben, get down!" Natalie ordered over the intercom, taking careful aim with the machine gun. She grinned when Ben's small figure ducked out of the way, giving her several clear shots, and began firing the machine gun. Body after body fell to the ground, creating absolute carnage. Ben began chasing Volchenkov's figure once more, his small figure moving so fast that Natalie barely noticed him.

_Maria,_ Natalie's mind echoed, reminding her that her lover was in trouble. Snarling loudly, Natalie swerved the quinjet towards the compound and shot out the glass ceiling, sending a heavy rain of glass shards down upon any enemies that may have been lurking beneath. "McTeague, Hill, stay out of sight!"

Natalie kept her eyes on her targets, focused on making them pay for Maria's injuries. Her father had glanced up at her momentarily before ducking behind the shipping container, and Natalie guessed that he'd been keeping an eye on Maria.

* * *

Evan ducked as glass rained down upon him and his enemies and covered Maria's head with his own body. He held his head in his hands to protect himself and glanced upwards at the sound of his daughter's voice, still covering Hill's now-unconscious figure with his own body. The sound of a machine gun filled the air, and Evan watched in a mix of horror and pride as Natalie sprayed several rounds at the mercenaries, dropping both of them with ease.

_Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!_

"Shit!" Evan cried out, covering his ears as Natalie continued her rampage. He finally deduced that Natalie had been listening in on his team's comms and had came out after hearing that Maria had been injured. His mind was running rampant with various emotions that he couldn't place while he wrapped his hand inside Maria's shirt collar before pulling her outside, keeping a low profile to avoid any potential injury. Natalie had saved his teams' lives, but he was still pissed that she'd hijacked a quinjet and left without backup or getting the go-ahead from Fury. Shaking those thoughts aside, Evan waved Natalie down, still crouched beside Maria's unconscious figure. The roaring stereo got louder and louder as Natalie approached, the systems now pounding out "Had Enough" by Breaking Benjamin. Natalie slowly lowered the quinjet, keeping the aircraft as straight as she could while she landed. Evan sighed with relief when the quinjet finally touched the ground, and he lifted Maria over his shoulders and carried her to the aircraft, hoping to get her out of there as soon as possible.

"Anything from Connor?" Evan asked, glancing at Natalie as he set Maria into a seat and applied pressure to her wounds.

"Haven't heard a word," Natalie replied, locking eyes with Evan. "Hope he hasn't gotten into a hairy situation..."

Evan turned away and focused on helping Maria, his mind flooded with worry for the twenty-something-year-old agent. Natalie had returned her focus to flying the quinjet, shutting off the stereo altogether before lifting off to try and find Ben.

* * *

Natalie trained the machine gun on her enemies and glanced briefly to her left to make sure that her father was out of sight before she lit up her targets. A sadistic grin pulled her lips to her ears as she squeezed the trigger on the machine gun, releasing a spray of bullets that dropped the mercenaries with ease.

_Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!_

The mercenaries dropped to the ground after the first ten rounds pierced their bodies, but Natalie wanted to make sure that they were down before she stopped firing her weapon. When neither of them moved, she released the trigger, ending the spray of heavy rounds. She glanced down at the shipping container that her father had ducked behind, only to find that he was no longer there. She slid the quinjet around and noticed her father dragging an unconscious body with him, and her heart jumped to her throat.

_Maria._

Natalie was overwhelmed with emotion when she saw that Maria was not conscious, but she quickly forced those thoughts from her head when her father began waving her down. She held her breath as she slowly lowered the quinjet to the ground, keeping the aircraft as straight as possible. She knew that the sound systems were more than likely overwhelming Evan, but she was so focused on helping him and Maria that she didn't bother turning it down. She knew that she was going to face her father's and Fury's wrath for going out alone and without permission, but she didn't care- Ben and the others needed help and nobody else had responded when Evan had called for medical evac. The only thing that terrified her was the slight chance that Evan, Fury, or both had deduced that she was Maria's lover, and she didn't want Maria to go down for this, either. Natalie finally exhaled when Evan lifted Maria onto his shoulders and carried her into the back of the quinjet, but she knew that he'd say something to her about what she'd done.

"Anything from Connor?" Evan asked, glancing at Natalie as he set Maria into a seat and applied pressure to her wounds.

"Haven't heard a word," Natalie replied, locking eyes with Evan. "Hope he hasn't gotten into a hairy situation..."

Evan turned away and focused on helping Maria and Natalie returned her focus to flying the quinjet, shutting off the stereo altogether before lifting off to try and find Ben.

Natalie hadn't gone very far before spotting Ben next to Volchenkov's unconscious figure, and she smirked at the fact that Ben had knocked the mobster out cold. She slowly lowered the quinjet, keeping the aircraft at least one hundred feet away from Ben to avoid any potential injuries. Once the quinjet touched down, Natalie opened the cargo bay door, keeping her eyes in front of her.

"Hand me the restraints," Ben told Evan, his tone sharp as a surgeon's blade.

Evan obliged, the heavy restraints clambering in his arms. Natalie listened as Ben tightened the heavy chains around Volchenkov, keeping the mobster in his seat.

"You hear from Connor?" Evan asked Ben.

"Nothing," Ben admitted, his voice full of pain. Natalie began to worry seeing as Connor was not only an agent, but a part of her family. "Natalie?"

"Yeah?" Natalie asked, leaning in her seat so that she could hear Ben.

"Despite the fact that you did some pretty fucking stupid shit," Ben began, his voice making Natalie shut her eyes and brace herself for a lecture, "you saved our asses. Thanks."

Natalie nodded slowly before shutting the cargo bay door and taking the quinjet to the sky, keeping the aircraft low enough just in case she, Ben, or Evan noticed Connor.

* * *

Ben heard the low rumble of a quinjet engine, and he was grateful that he was going to get out of Novosibirsk. He didn't dare admit it, but he was freezing in the sub-zero temperatures, and he knew that it would be a miracle if he didn't have frostbit ears. He glanced upwards and noticed that the quinjet was flying low overhead, almost hovering right above him and Volchenkov's unconscious body. The quinjet landed at least one hundred feet away from him, and he slung Volchenkov over his back and carried him to the aircraft, his eyes still burning with fury. He'd overheard Evan state that Agent Hill had gone down, and he prayed that she'd made it out alive. Connor hadn't radioed in when Evan had called for backup, and Ben had been worried that he (Connor) had run into trouble.

"Hand me the restraints," Ben told Evan sharply, trying to remain calm despite the fact that Natalie had run off on her own, hijacked a quinjet, and flown out here without receiving orders from a superior.

Evan calmly handed Ben the restraints, and the short man had Volchenkov in heavy restraints in a matter of seconds. "You hear from Connor?"

"Nothing," Ben admitted painfully, sitting down and setting his helmet between his knees. He was really worried for Connor- they may have had their differences, but to Ben, Connor was his brother. "Natalie?"

"Yeah?" Natalie asked, leaning in her seat to lend an ear to Ben while focusing on flying.

"Despite the fact that you did some pretty fucking stupid shit," Ben began, "you saved our asses out there. Thanks."

The cargo bay door slowly closed as Natalie lifted the quinjet into the sky, keeping the aircraft at a low altitude just in case one of them spotted Connor.

Ben kept scanning as Natalie approached the edge of the city when the sight of grotesquely shaped, burning metal caught his eye. He pressed himself against the window to get a better look and noticed a head and torso poking out from beneath the metal. His blue eyes wide, Ben dashed to the cockpit to alert Natalie. "I see him! He's to our right and pinned in the quinjet!"

"Copy that," Natalie responded, lowering the quinjet to Connor's level, the lights from the aircraft illuminating his injured figure. Evan and Ben leaped out of the quinjet to help Connor to safety, keeping a low profile and their weapons at the ready just in case there were any more enemies lurking around. The smell of burnt oil and flesh filled their nostrils, but they dismissed the stench and pushed on, praying that they'd find Connor.

* * *

Connor groaned loudly as his eyes fluttered open. His leg was hurting badly, and the vile stench of burnt flesh and burning oil invaded his nostrils. He blinked twice to gather himself before turning his head to get an idea of his situation. His blue eyes scanned the surrounding perimeter and stopped on a pile of burnt, mangled metal. It took him a moment to realize that his quinjet had been shot down and that he'd been pinned inside, and it pissed him off. "Fuck..."

He took a few deep breaths and slowly sat up, glad that it was only his left leg that was pinned inside the wreckage. He tried to pinpoint the smell and realized that the wreckage had burned his leg, but for some reason he wasn't feeling any severe pain. The silence that enveloped him was terrifying, for he had no idea as to where he'd gone down. With a frustrated grunt, he started wrenching his leg out of its trap, ignoring the searing pain that was now beginning to shoot through his body. He shifted his thoughts to his favorite pastime- playing baseball with his son Nikolai.

The distraction worked; Connor wrenched his leg out of the wreckage, his teeth slicing his lip as he bit down to keep from crying out as a loud snap had pierced the darkness. He waited another thirty seconds or so before using his hands, forearms, and good leg to push himself underneath some of the metal, keeping his head and chest open just in case backup arrived. _Thank God for Special Forces training,_ he thought to himself as he pressed his back against the cold, snowy tundra and closed his eyes. Being a part of the US Army Special Operations had prepared him for the pains of battle, so a busted ankle didn't affect him one bit. His breathing evened out as he rested on the soft, white, fluffy mattress that nature had given him.

He was half-conscious when he heard a low rumble overhead, and he began strategizing in the event that the enemy had located him and had planned to kill him. His eyes opened halfway and were invaded by a bright white light, blinding him temporarily. He grit his teeth and began pulling himself out from underneath the wreckage, anticipating a last stand of some sort. Pain shot through his foot, but he shrugged it off and reached for his pistol. The .45-caliber handgun felt heavy in his hands, but he had no time to worry- he had to act fast.

"Connor?" a familiar voice called out, its source accompanied by a Scottish accent.

Connor sighed and rested on his forearm, relieved that he was being rescued. "Over ... here!"

Heavy footsteps approached and a tactical flashlight shone above Connor, illuminating the owner's face. A tanned face, pair of hazel eyes and a thick mane of brown hair greeted the older man, revealing his rescuer as Evan McTeague.

"Hang on, buddy- Ben and I are gonna get you outta here," Evan assured Connor, kneeling next to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Connor blinked a few times as more pain shot through his body, and Evan finally noticed the burnt flesh and that one of Connor's feet was immobile.

Ben kneeled at Connor's feet, quickly examining his left foot. "His ankle is probably broken; I'll wrap it up once we get on board."

Evan nodded in understanding and quickly shifted so that he was behind Connor's head, his flashlight swinging on his chest. "On three- one ... two ... three!"

Connor bit his lip as Evan and Ben lifted him, Evan's arms supporting Connor's torso and Ben holding his legs. The two of them quickly moved the redhead to the quinjet and loaded him onto one of the seats before shutting the cargo bay door. Natalie hammered the accelerator on the quinjet, taking them high into the sky at a neck breaking speed. Ben administered to Connor's busted ankle and Evan checked on Maria, who was still unconscious. The Scot worried deeply for the young agent and prayed that the damage wasn't too severe. The brunette was still breathing and her pulse was present, but Evan decided that more intervention was needed. "Pass me an oxygen mask..."

Ben silently obliged and within moments Evan had an oxygen mask over Maria's face, keeping her lungs inflated. He'd been keeping pressure on her wounds and had stopped the bleeding, drastically improving her survival chances. His mind raced with questions- why had Natalie come out without getting the go-ahead from Fury? Why was she the only one flying the quinjet? What or whom had been responsible for Connor's quinjet going down? _Focus,_ he ordered himself. _Natalie may have done something horribly dumb, but she helped this team make it out alive _and_ with Volchenkov in binds._ Evan sighed loudly as he plopped down next to Volchenkov, keeping his rifle at the ready just in case Volchenkov happened to wake up. Three generations of Evan's family had battled Volchenkov and his maggots, and it appeared that, finally, victory was in sight.

* * *

Ben and Evan lingered by the cargo bay door of the quinjet, anxious to find Connor and bring him to safety. Evan could almost smell Ben's fear that the worst had happened, but Evan refused to believe it. _There's no way that a Green Beret would go down that easily,_ Evan's mind echoed. _Trying to kill a Green Beret is like expecting a live grenade to not_ _explode- there's no way in hell._ Shaking his thoughts, Evan leaped out of the quinjet with Ben on his heels, ignoring the wretched stench of burnt flesh and oil. The Scot and his brother-in-law pushed on, keeping their rifles at the ready. If not for Evan's flashlight, he and Ben would almost appear ghost-like, their silhouettes dancing slowly across the frozen terrain. The shorter man inhaled sharply when he heard movement and immediately tapped Evan's shoulder. Evan turned sharply on his heel and laid eyes on Connor's struggling figure, the injured man's hand resting on a .45 caliber pistol.

"Connor?" Evan asked, keeping his rifle at the ready just in case it was an enemy jet that had been shot down.

"Over ... here!" Connor groaned, his voice strained with pain.

Evan nodded at Ben and the two romped over to their comrade, Evan's tactical flashlight illuminating Connor's body. The redhead looked at Evan for a moment, double-checking to make sure that he wasn't being hunted by Volchenkov's men.

Evan placed a hand on Connor's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Hang on, buddy-Ben and I are gonna get you outta here."

Connor only blinked in response, and it then occurred to Evan that the wretched smell that had invaded his nostrils was Connor's burning flesh. Ben had kneeled at Connor's feet and was examining his left foot for injuries.

"His ankle is probably broken; I'll wrap it up once we get onboard," Ben told Evan, noting that the redhead's left foot was indeed immobile.

Evan shifted so that he was standing behind Connor's head, his flashlight swinging away, and nodded at Ben, who had kneeled at Connor's feet. "On three- one ... two ... three!"

Evan and Ben lifted Connor into their arms, Evan taking care to hold Connor's head and shoulders as close to his chest as he could while Ben's hands wrapped around Connor's legs before making a beeline for the quinjet. Exhaling sharply, the two of them set Connor in one of the seats and shut the cargo bay door. The redhead was seething in pain while Ben wrapped his ankle and elevated it to help reduce the swelling. Natalie had punched the accelerator on the quinjet just as Evan began checking on Maria, who was still unconscious, and the sudden shift in force spooked Evan momentarily. Maria was still breathing and had a pulse, but Evan decided to stay on the safe side.

"Pass me an oxygen mask..." Evan told Ben, who quickly passed one over to Evan along with an oxygen tank. With a heavy breath, Evan checked the tank to make sure that there weren't any issues, then carefully slipped the mask over Maria's face, hooked the tube up to the mask, set the amount of oxygen needed, and secured the tank. He sighed in relief after the oxygen was flowing and took a seat to an unconscious, heavily bound Volchenkov, keeping his rifle trained on him just in case he happened to wake up.

_Maybe it's finally over,_ Evan thought to himself hopefully, remembering the two chances before now that he, Serana, Ben, and Evan and Serana's father Owen had had to catch Volchenkov, Kosovo, and their cohorts and end their mad plot for domination. _Maybe we can all finally live normal lives.__.._

* * *

**There's chapter ten (10,) I apologize for the wait. So much more will be coming in later installments, and thanks again for your support! :D**


	11. Aftermath, Breakdown, and Focus

**Hey everyone, thanks for sticking with this story! Your reviews, follows, and faves are greatly appreciated. For this chapter, we will see Natalie and Maria's relationship develop a little more. Enjoy!**

* * *

**SHIELD Helicarrier- Medical Ward**

Natalie hadn't slept for the past thirty-two hours, having been worried sick for Maria. She knew that her father was highly suspicious of her and Maria, but she didn't care- she loved her and wanted to make sure that she was okay. Her hijacking of the quinjet and going out to Volchenkov's compound without backup or a go-ahead from Fury had landed her on desk duty, but she didn't really give a shit. Hell, she was happy that she'd gone out there to begin with. The mere thought of losing Maria terrified her, even while she sat in the chair next to Maria in the hospital. _I can't lose her,_ Natalie's mind echoed frantically. _If I lost her..._ Natalie shook her thoughts off and tried to relax, albeit to no success. Out of nowhere she heard a knock on the door, and she immediately got irritated- Maria needed her rest, not to be bothered by some doctor or nurse. With a heavy sigh, she went to answer the door, wondering if it was the doctor or a random SHIELD agent.

Who greeted her, however, almost made her weak in the knees.

"Hey, Nat," Evan greeted softly, his face expressionless as he met Natalie's slight glare. "May I come in?"

"Why not," Natalie sighed, her shoulders slumping as she trudged back to her chair next to Maria.

"Before you ask," Evan began, "I am not here to rip into you about hijacking the quinjet despite how irresponsibly reckless you were."

_Sounds to me like you're full of shit,_ Natalie's subconscious echoed. "I'm on desk duty until further notice from Fury..."

"Which kinda sucks," Evan said sympathetically. "Yeah, it wasn't the best decision to make, but you managed to prevent the loss of two of our best field agents."

Natalie cracked a small grin for the first time in over a day. Yeah, she wasn't too thrilled that she was stuck behind a desk, but she'd rather get desk duty for doing the right thing instead of allowing two SHIELD agents to die. _Hell, one of them is your lover,_ Natalie's subconscious reminded her, forcing a tidal wave of emotions to rise in her chest. Before she knew it or was able to stop herself, she felt the acidic sting of tears in her pale blue orbs. Evan obviously noticed, yet it didn't surprise him seeing as he'd put two and two together when Natalie had come to his team's aid.

"Hey," Evan whispered soothingly, wrapping his arms around Natalie, "it's gonna be okay, Nat. You're gonna be okay, and Maria's safe."

Natalie glanced up at the mention of Maria's name, and a few moments later, it clicked in her head that her father knew what was going on between her and Maria. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Evan.

"I'm your father- I've had my suspicions ever since I saw you arrive in the briefing room with Maria," Evan explained. "The look on Coulson's face made me start trusting my instincts, but when you flew out to Novosibirsk, I deduced the truth.

"I am not mad at you for loving someone, even if it happens to be someone that you, myself, and our family work with. Hell, I thought you wouldn't wanna see anybody after what happened with Emily..."

"You ... you knew about her, too?" Natalie choked out, surprised that Evan had found out about her ex-girlfriend. Emily had left Natalie for a different person and it had shattered her heart, then turned her somewhat cold.

"It's a parent's job to know about their kids' lives," Evan replied. "I know what Emily did to you, and it makes me mad. Hell, if she was a guy, I would've probably been getting dressed in the armory!"

Natalie shook her head at her father. "It's amazing how you can make me feel better after heartbreak and when I'm worried to hell..."

Evan grinned at Natalie. "Now ... about Maria..."

"You don't approve of workplace relationships, I know," Natalie began heavily.

"While this romance has led you to do some reckless stuff," Evan began seriously, pulling Natalie into his chest, "I cannot get mad at you for doing so."

"Wait, why?" Natalie questioned.

Evan's lip quivered in thought. "You did the right thing, for one. Secondly, there isn't a damn thing in this world that I wouldn't do for those that I love."

"You really think I did the right thing?" Natalie uttered in bewilderment. "I hijacked a SHIELD aircraft and flew out to Novosibirsk without proper orders or backup! I did the dumbest fucking thing ever!"

"Because in your heart, it was the right thing," Evan pointed out. "Doing what is right and doing what is easy aren't always the same thing. Yeah, you could've reported to Fury or Coulson about what you'd heard on the radio, but if they hadn't approved letting you go and/or sending a team in for backup, things would've been _way_ worse. Yeah, Fury put you on desk duty and ripped you apart, but I'm sure that he knows that you did the right thing."

Natalie began to quake in Evan's arms, worried for Maria and trying to come to terms with the fact that she had mercilessly shot at least two dozen people to death. "I ... I'm a monster, Dad!"

"No you're not," Evan assured, stroking Natalie's short hair. "You're my daughter, and I'm proud of you for doing what's right even though you got in trouble and angered our superiors."

Natalie half-giggled, still bracing for Evan's lecture on workplace romance and how she should focus solely on the mission.

"However," Evan began softly, "I must ask you to be more cautious the next time you go out into the field for any reason- be it for any reason, including Maria's safety. I know that you love her, Natalie, and I understand that you will do literally _anything_ to protect her, but I ask that you not go off half-cocked ever again."

Natalie nodded through her tears, still trying to process everything. Maria had been shot and was in the medical ward, Connor was currently in the burn unit and would be placed on desk duty for the next few months thanks to a broken ankle once released, and she'd pissed off Fury.

"Do you think he knows?" Natalie asked after a few moments, glancing up at Evan with a worried flame in her eyes.

"Do I think who knows about what?" Evan asked in confusion.

"Fury," Natalie clarified. "Do you think he knows about Maria and I?"

"Wouldn't doubt it," Evan answered. "He can read people like an open book."

"Yet he hasn't said anything," Natalie pointed out.

"He could only be suspicious right now," Evan rebutted, "but I doubt it'll be long before he finds out..."

Natalie started freaking out inside at her father's words- if Fury found out that she and Maria were together, she was _screwed!_

"You okay?" Evan asked, trying to stifle a giggle at Natalie's facial expression.

"... I just realized that Maria and I are both _screwed_ once Fury puts two and two together!" Natalie squeaked, hanging her head in shame.

"I know he'll be upset, but he can't really stop you two from being together," Evan assured. "You spend personal time together outside of work, so you're not really breaking any rules."

Natalie only shook her head and bit her lip, afraid to say anything more. Evan decided not to press the issue and released Natalie, who plopped down in a chair and took Maria's hand in her own.

"I'll see you later, kid. Keep your head up, no matter what happens. I love you," Evan said quietly, placing a reassuring hand on Natalie's shoulder.

"I love you too, Dad," Natalie choked out in response as tears began to fall from her eyes like a heavy rain.

With his trench coat swinging in the air like Dracula's cape, Evan left Maria's room, promising to himself that he wouldn't say anything to anyone else about Natalie and Maria's romance for both of their sake.

* * *

Four hours after Evan's departure, Natalie's mind was spinning as a tornado of thoughts raced through her subconscious. Maria was still unconscious, and Natalie wanted to make sure that she was there when Maria woke up. The beeping from the machines were the only things that pierced the silence of the room, yet Natalie was still close to going crazy. She wanted to hear Maria's voice, feel her grip her hand, and see those gorgeous blue-green orbs that pierced Natalie's soul. _You're being selfish,_ Natalie's mind whispered, reminding her that after injuries like these, one would need to take it slow. _She'll come around when she's ready,_ Natalie decided quietly. Then again, this wasn't Natalie's first rodeo dealing with a loved one in the hospital- when she was nine years old, Jesse's father's truck was hit by a drunk semi driver. Jesse had to have reconstructive surgery on his leg and ribs. His mother, Lindsay, was left with a severe head injury, leaving her in a coma for eleven months. When she woke up, it was somewhat bittersweet- she didn't remember much right before the accident, but over time, she regained her memory. _A true medical miracle,_ Natalie thought to herself. Carefully shifting her body, Natalie laid her head on the back of the chair and closed her eyes, finally able to rest for a little while.

* * *

Night had fallen upon the skies when Natalie woke up, her pale blue eyes still droopy from exhaustion. Maria's room was still only flooded by the beeping from the monitors yet Natalie's hand was still intertwined with Maria's, and the sight alone gave Natalie hope.

"Maria ..." Natalie began quietly, blinking back a few tears. "... I know it's been a really hard four days for you. Going after Kosovo, finding out more about Volchenkov...

"I just want you to know that even though everything has been a fucking pain in our asses, I will always be there for you. I will never leave you behind, nor will I ever stop loving you."

Natalie wiped a few tears from her eyes and slid her phone out of her pocket. Despite the beeping of the machines, Natalie still found the room to be too quiet. Exhaling loudly, Natalie turned on her playlist and was immediately comforted by the soft sounds that flowed from the speaker.

_"I'm so tired of being here ... suppressed by all of my childish fears..."_ Natalie's phone echoed, the soft tune nearly making Natalie burst into tears. _"And if you have to leave ... I wish you would just leave ... cause your presence still lingers here..._

_"... and it won't leave me alone!_

_"These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real! There's just too much that time cannot erase!_

_"When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears! When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears!_

_"And I held your hand through all of these years, but you still have ... all of me!"_

A wave of tears flowed down Natalie's face, yet she did nothing to stop them. She squeezed Maria's hand to reassure her that she wouldn't leave her side; moments later, her heart jumped.

"Mmm..." Maria groaned, her stirring adding to the mixture of noises.

"Maria?" Natalie asked softly, leaning in closer to the older agent and squeezing her hand lightly. "Baby ... can you hear me?"

"Mmm..." Maria stirred again, squeezing Natalie's hand. Natalie didn't move, praying that this was the moment that she'd see her lover's blue-green orbs.

Maria's eyes slowly opened, and the soft sound of Evanescence invaded her ears. White walls surrounded her, and she wondered if she was still comatose or if she was actually awake.

"Maria?" Natalie asked, a joyful grin pulling at her mouth. "Baby?"

Maria's head turned at the sound of Natalie's voice, and she nearly wept when she saw the short-haired brunette by her bedside. "N-Natalie?"

Natalie broke down and grinned, her sorrow turning to joy. "It's okay, baby. Everything's gonna be okay."

Maria's brow scrunched as a wave of pain rippled across her head. "The compound ... the mercenaries ... Volchenkov..."

"Volchenkov's in interrogation," Natalie supplied. "You're in the medical ward; doctors removed a bullet from your shoulder. You're gonna be okay, baby."

"How ... how long have you been here?" Maria groaned, locking eyes with Natalie.

"Once you got out of surgery, I came here to be with you," Natalie answered. "Fury put me on desk duty for hijacking a quinjet and going in hot without backup."

Maria half-smirked at Natalie's explanation. "You hijacked a quinjet? You're out of your mind!"

Natalie shook her head. "I know, but I had to... I wasn't going to sit on my ass while you were hurt in the field. I heard Dad's transmission about an agent down and ... I just left. It was almost like it was instinct for me to leave and help you guys."

Maria blinked rapidly, still trying to remember the details. Her blue-green eyes widened at the sudden memory of Evan asking Connor to help out. "What happened to O'Malley? Is he...?"

"He's in the burn unit," Natalie responded quietly. "One of those heavy mercs shot down the quinjet and he was trapped inside. His ankle is broken, too, but he says it was because he was trying to free himself from the wreckage. He was laying on his back under some burnt metal when Ben and Dad got to him."

"Did ... did your father mention what happened to me?" Maria asked hesitantly, her memory still very foggy.

"You went to advance on our target and he shot you," Natalie admitted painfully. "Dad dragged you behind a shipping container and put pressure on your wound. By the time I got there, Ben had Volchenkov cornered and there were at least half a dozen mercs advancing on you. Dad got up to take them out, but he had to duck back behind cover. I was using the machine gun and destroyed the mercenaries."

Maria was speechless- Natalie had hijacked a quinjet and had annihilated a bunch of mercenaries to save her? Why? "Natalie ... why did you come out to the compound? Why not go to Fury or Coulson?"

Natalie took a deep breath before saying anything more. "I didn't want to wait for their orders or for a team to suit up. From the sound of Dad's voice, I was under the impression that you needed immediate extraction."

"That's your logic? Fuck waiting for orders and play hero?!" Maria demanded angrily. "You could have-!"

Natalie cut Maria off with a searing kiss, catching the older agent off guard. Maria could feel Natalie's worry, pain, fear, and joy in the kiss. It didn't matter that she was hooked up to the monitors and had an IV tube in her arm- she was locked in the moment with Natalie. The older agent began returning the kiss, earning a soft moan from Natalie.

"... I wasn't ... trying to play ... hero..." Natalie gasped, trying to catch her breath. Maria raised an eyebrow as a silent order for Natalie to continue. "... I love you and I don't know what I'd do or how I'd feel if I lost you!"

Natalie's words were more than enough for Maria- she pulled the younger agent into a searing kiss, tangling her free hand in Natalie's messy brown hair. Natalie's heart began firing bullets of blood through her veins at Maria's kiss and her body temperature shot up a thousand degrees at Maria's touch. When they parted, Maria noticed a spark in Natalie's eyes, but she was unable to place what may have caused it or what it was.

"Natalie?" Maria asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger agent. "Natalie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Natalie finally said, giving Maria a sincere grin. _I love you,_ Natalie's mind echoed, torturing her subconscious a little bit.

"Then ... why do you appear to be ... distant?" Maria prodded, raising an eyebrow at her lover.

"Sorry..." Natalie apologized, bowing her head for a moment. "I've been thinking about how Volchenkov should punished for hurting you and Connor."

"Don't think about that!" Maria pleaded, grabbing Natalie's hands in hers. "Please- I need you focused."

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Focused? May I ask why?"

A slightly devious grin tugged at Maria's lips. "Because we're not done with Volchenkov and Kosovo yet..."

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**Another cliffie- sorry! XD I will make it up to you guys, I promise! As always, please feel free to leave a review! Thanks again for your support!**


	12. Regrets and jealousy?

**Hey guys, sorry again for a cliffhanger! Everything will start coming together in this chapter- I swear to you that it will!**

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_"Because we're __not done with Volchenkov and Kosovo yet."_

Natalie sat back and stared at Maria in utter confusion. "What do you mean, 'we're not done with Volchenkov and Kosovo yet?'"

Maria took Natalie's hand in her own. "Even with them in custody, the Goliath steroid is still out there. In order to fully neutralize these guys ... we'll have to destroy the steroid."

"I have a really strange feeling that SHIELD won't destroy all of the samples..." Natalie grumbled, her thoughts trailing to Ben and his kids.

"Why do you say that?" Maria asked cautiously, raising a brown eyebrow at Natalie.

Natalie bit her lip for a moment. "Think about it- the steroid has done more harm than good throughout the last eighteen years. SHIELD destroys the samples, there's less chance of developing any kind of vaccine or treatment for it.

"What's worse is that we don't know exactly whomever else Volchenkov and Kosovo have told about the steroid. There could be dozens of scientists working with those two fuck berries that have samples of the Goliath. Who knows how fast they might be able to replicate the steroid..."

While Maria took Natalie's words to heart, she didn't let her worries stop her from pulling Natalie's body against her own and crashing their lips together. Natalie moaned softly and slowly pressed Maria against the bed, taking care to avoid tangling any cords or wires. A knock on the door forced them apart, much to their displeasure.

"Ugh..." Natalie growled, carefully easing herself off of Maria. The person knocked again, and Natalie's pale blue eyes immediately rolled into the back of her head. "Just a moment!"

Maria raised an eyebrow as her flustered lover went to answer the door. _Gosh, she's adorable when she's mad!_

"Dave? What are you doing here?" Natalie asked, shocked to see her kid brother on the other side of the door.

"Just checking up on you guys," Dave replied simply. "I'll come back later- sorry to intrude."

"Hold on a minute, David." Natalie grabbed her brother's arm and held it in a vice grip. He scowled at the use of his full first name and locked eyes with Natalie. "Who sent you here?"

"Nobody," Dave replied smoothly.

Natalie pulled her brother closer to her. "Don't lie to me, Dave. _Who sent you here?"_

Dave glanced down at the floor for a moment. "Coulson."

"What does he want?" Natalie half-snarled, her blue eyes smoldering with fury.

"He wants to talk to you..." Dave trailed off, his voice flooding with concern.

Natalie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please tell Agent Coulson that I will stop by his quarters tomorrow."

Dave's left eyebrow rose to a peak on his forehead. "He wants to see you _now."_

A menacing growl escaped from Natalie's chest. "Tell him that, with all due respect, he can fuck off and wait until tomorrow."

Dave rolled his eyes and pushed past Natalie and into the room. "Agent Hill ... as a courtesy to both you and Natalie, I will tell you both about the situation.

"Agent Coulson is aware of your relationship ... outside of work. He wants to speak with you both about it."

"And if we don't talk to him about it?" Maria inquired, folding her arms across her chest.

"He said he may have to tell Director Fury about it unless you come clean..." Dave half-fibbed, adjusting the glasses that he seldom wore.

"Coulson wouldn't try to blackmail Maria," Natalie pointed out. "For all we know, he wants to make sure that Maria and myself will keep our personal relationship _outside_ of work."

"Particularly after that quinjet hijacking that you did," Dave pointed out. "Now, he doesn't condemn you for that, but he's not really happy that you went out there without backup."

"I'll talk to him in a few hours," Natalie stated firmly, trying to at least have a small window of time to spend with Maria.

Dave turned on his heel to leave. "I'll let him know."

Natalie sat down next to Maria with worry blazing in her eyes. No sooner had the door clicked shut that it hit her. "If Coulson wants to talk to us ... oh fuck...!"

Maria grabbed Natalie's hand. "I don't think he's gonna out us. Like your brother said, Coulson wants to talk to both of us first."

Natalie groaned in frustration. "He better not tell us off ... hijacking a quinjet is one of the more ... harmless things that I could do..."

Maria shifted on her bed and placed her hand on Natalie's jaw. "Listen to me ... perhaps he wants to know a little more about what's going on in case something bad happens to either of us. If anything ... Coulson is family to me, and I have never met anyone else that has cared so much about their agents like he does."

Natalie turned to face Maria. "I'm worried for both of us, Maria, and it's not because of Coulson..."

"Fury?" Maria deduced sharply, locking eyes with Natalie, who nodded in return. "Do you think he knows?"

Natalie sighed loudly. "Doubt it, but I am scared about what he will do when he finds out..."

"Don't wanna get put behind a desk?" Maria teased, earning a glare from Natalie.

"More like I don't want Fury to can both of our asses just because we can't fight our feelings anymore," Natalie elaborated, her eyebrows rising to a peak on her forehead. "Besides, I'm already on desk duty, and it fucking blows!"

Maria grinned for the first time since Natalie had first kissed her. "Oh, poor baby!"

Natalie's jaw dropped for a moment. _"Not_ funny, Maria!"

"You know you love it!" Maria joked, playfully shoving Natalie.

"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't pounce you here and now!" Natalie retorted, catching Maria's hands in her own as her face lit up like the sun. Maria's jaw dropped and Natalie's mouth warped into a rather sinister grin. "Yeah, I thought so!"

"You haven't won yet!" Maria fired back, pulling a shocked Natalie into a searing kiss that seemed to last a lifetime. A low moan escaped from Natalie's chest, forcing Maria to grin against the kiss. The desperation in the kiss made Natalie forget that Coulson wanted to speak to her ASAP, but she really didn't care- she wanted to make sure Maria was really okay before she did anything else.

"Well, aren't you two cute!" a female voice interrupted, forcing Natalie and Maria apart.

"Fucking hell, Natasha! Knock much?!" Natalie hissed, glaring at the Russian.

"Just came to check on Agent Hill, but it's obvious that everything is just fine," Natasha teased, earning her a rather sinister glare from Natalie. The redhead, however, wasn't deterred by Shadowstep's daughter even if her file had deemed her highly dangerous. "I'll come back later."

"That would be highly advised," Natalie replied coldly, her tone scaring Maria slightly. Natasha then left the room, a smirk still on her face. "Sheesh, what do we have to do to get some fucking privacy here?!"

Maria yawned rather loudly and wrapped her arms around the back of Natalie's neck. "I wish I had an answer..."

Natalie shook her head and scooted closer to Maria, paying close attention to the wires. "I hate to be a party pooper, but I should probably get some more sleep..."

"You and me both," Maria sighed, shifting her body so that she was lying on her right side and giving Natalie enough room to join her if she wished. Maria was delighted when she felt Natalie snuggle right up to her, draping an arm around her torso. This was their first time cuddling like this, and they were both content with it. "Natalie?"

"Hmm?" Natalie answered, her voice groggy as she had barely slept over the last few days.

"What do we tell Coulson?" Maria wondered aloud.

Natalie exhaled sharply at Maria's question. "The truth- he has the right to know. If something else happens, he'll wanna be prepared to tell one or the other about the situation."

Maria was shocked at Natalie's response. _It has to be due to her sleep deprivation,_ she thought to herself. "Do you think he'll tell Fury?"

"That's one of my concerns," Natalie admitted painfully, "but even if he does, there hasn't been too nasty of a situation or a reaction by either of us, so I'm sure we'll be okay. If not, well..."

Maria shifted so that she was face-to-face with Natalie. "Does anyone else know? Besides Coulson, I mean?"

"Dad knows..." Natalie admitted painfully, referring to her father.

Maria's eyebrows rose up in in shock. "Your dad knows?! How?"

"Novosibirsk," Natalie replied simply; Maria understood right away.

Maria sighed and shook her head. "Promise me you won't do that again?"

"I promise that I'll _try_ to not do that again," Natalie fired back, knowing full well that if the situation called for it, she'd hijack another quinjet and leave the helicarrier in a heartbeat.

"You McTeagues..." Maria smirked, her eyes heavy with sleep.

"Morgans," Natalie corrected with a laugh. "Mine and Dave's last name is Morgan, just like our mom."

Maria chuckled and relaxed. "Whatever, dweeb."

"Rest," Natalie ordered, settling down for the first time in almost three days.

Maria settled down and snuggled up to Natalie. "Goodnight, Nat."

"Night, Maria," Natalie whispered before succumbing to a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Natalie awoke in Maria's arms several hours later, mentally hissing at the mere idea of meeting with Coulson. She carefully wriggled herself out of Maria's grasp and stretched, taking a slow, deep breath in the process. She stepped out of the bed and slowly made her way to the bathroom to fix her hair and wash the sleep from her pale blue eyes. The sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, and Natalie was superbly tired. _Curse sleep deprivation,_ she thought to herself as she washed her face, shivering as the cold water splashed against her skin. The last few days had been hell for her, and part of Natalie felt that Maria getting shot was her fault. _Stop that,_ she reminded herself as she dried her face with a clean towel. _They got the asshole that shot her and she is going to recover._ She grinned at the thought yet was saddened because she was already missing Maria's touch even though the brunette was just fifteen feet away from her. Her phone buzzed in the other room and she sighed. _Lovely-__ now we have another shit storm to deal with..._ With her eyes smoldering with anger, Natalie answered her phone. "Agent Morgan."

_"Miss Morgan, would you mind coming to my office?"_ Agent Coulson asked gently, his tone not setting off any of Natalie's alarms just yet.

"I can be there in five minutes," Natalie answered, gazing at her slumbering lover.

_"Thank you, Agent Morgan,"_ Coulson replied before hanging up. Natalie set her phone down and groaned- she and Maria would have to face the music sooner or later, and she honestly preferred that it would happen sooner.

"You're really fucked now, Morgan," Natalie cursed out loud, kicking herself for allowing Coulson to bust her and Maria like that.

"Mmm," Maria stirred, shifting Natalie's focus from the upcoming meeting with Coulson to Maria's barely-woken figure.

"Hey," Natalie greeted softly, planting a kiss on Maria's forehead. "Good morning."

"Morning, beautiful," Maria whispered, capturing Natalie's heart. "Sleep well?"

"The best in a long time," Natalie admitted, touching her forehead to Maria's. "Agent Coulson called me- he wants to talk to me in his office. I just hope that he doesn't out you to anyone else or try to get you demoted..."

Maria backed away from Natalie for a minute. "Why would he do that?"

Natalie sighed and tore her gaze from Maria. "After everything that I did- fraternizing with a senior agent, defying orders, _and_ the quinjet incident...

"If anyone deserves to get punished, it's me- I made stupid decisions that almost cost you your life and your job. I'm sorry."

Maria pulled Natalie into a hungry kiss, and the eighteen-year-old was reminded that despite her mistakes, the likelihood that Maria would get demoted because of her was very low. "You saved my life, Nat."

Natalie smirked and rested her forehead against Maria's. "My dad saved your life; I just brought the hijacked quinjet out there to grab you, Ben, the targets, and Connor."

"You still went above and beyond," Maria pointed out, wrapping her arms around Natalie. "Fury was wrong about you..."

"What do you mean?" Natalie asked, raising her eyebrow in a manner that reminded Maria so much of Evan.

"He was ... hesitant to call you and your family in on this matter," Maria sighed. "He was trying to push to bring Evan and Serana in, but Coulson, Agent Romanoff, and myself persuaded him to bring you, your brother, and your cousins in as well."

Natalie's eyes suddenly darkened with fury. "Forgive me, but does Director Fury not trust my entire family?"

"He wanted to bring your father in a long time ago, and not as an ally..." Maria trailed off, her statement shocking Natalie further.

"How or why in the hell did Fury _not_ go to Interpol or the CIA about my dad's identity?" Natalie questioned brazenly.

"I wish I knew..." Maria admitted painfully. "But if I had to guess, I'd say it was either due to lack of evidence or because Fury wanted to have your father as an ally instead of an enemy..."

"Dad never liked Fury," Natalie pointed out. "Ever."

Maria smirked at the ironic truth in that statement. "Yet they trust each other."

"If I had to guess," Natalie began softly, "Dad might have helped lead SHIELD to Volchenkov, Kosovo, and Claybrook ... this agency might not have found out about those assholes that soon if not for some of these incidents involving those three ... maybe some involved my family..."

"Or good intelligence," Maria countered before pulling Natalie into yet another searing, hungry kiss. A guttural moan escaped from Natalie's throat as a result, which excited Maria. They remained lip-locked for what felt like an eternity before Natalie pulled away, earning a small pout from Maria.

"I gotta get dressed and meet with Coulson," Natalie explained, tucking a stray brown hair behind Maria's ear. "Get some rest- I'll be back when you wake."

Maria grinned and kissed Natalie's cheek. "I will see you later, love."

"Definitely," Natalie promised before getting off of the gurney and leaving to meet with Coulson.

* * *

"Agent Morgan," Coulson greeted curtly upon spotting the young adult entering his office. "Thank you for meeting me here."

"Of course," Natalie responded shortly. She had changed out of her jeans, Metallica t-shirt, and red sneakers and into a pair of black cargo pants, a dark blue, long-sleeved athletic shirt, and her black combat boots before dashing to Coulson's office. "Before we begin, I'd like to apologize for hijacking that aircraft and going into a hot landing zone without backup or directive orders."

Coulson took Natalie's words to heart. "Thank you, Agent Morgan; please have a seat."

Natalie sat in one of the chairs without a word and never took her eyes off of Coulson. Her mind was swimming with questions and fear, something that one might think uncommon for an individual with a background like hers.

"I understand Director Fury has placed you on desk duty as a result of the quinjet hijacking?" Coulson asked, his facial expression never changing.

Natalie bit back a jab at Fury and stared right into Coulson's blue eyes with her own. "Yes sir."

"I see..." Coulson glanced briefly at his notes and then back at Natalie. "I don't mean to pry into your personal life, but I need to know what is going on with you and Agent Hill."

Natalie leaned forward in her seat. "With respect, sir ... you caught us when we were off duty in my quarters..."

"Even then," Coulson began with a grin, shocking Natalie deeply, "I still need to know more about your ... relationship. Is it an undercover thing that Fury hasn't told me about or is it something more ... personal?"

Natalie took a deep breath before saying anything more. "We are romantically involved."

Coulson nodded slowly. "I see ... is this something new?"

"Forgive me, sir," Natalie began shakily, trying to maintain her bearing, "but why are you asking me about this? Is it because of the quinjet incident or the moment where you caught Agent Hill and myself kissing in my quarters?"

Coulson chuckled briefly. "I need to make sure proper arrangements will be made in the event of an attack, kidnapping, or line of duty injury or death..."

Natalie was caught off-guard by Coulson's words. "I understand..."

"Good," Coulson answered. "I will need you to fill out some paperwork to make sure that the proper precautions will be taken in any emergency event. I will have Agent Hill fill out these forms as well once she is recovered and out of the medical ward..."

"Out of respect," Natalie prodded, "wouldn't you want to wait until the event of marriage or filing of civil partnership?"

"Agent Hill and yourself are two of our best field agents right now," Coulson explained, "so having the proper paperwork filled out ASAP would be beneficial to both of you and our agency."

"Fair enough," Natalie answered. Coulson grinned and handed her a file that contained the papers.

"If you're worried that I will out you two," Coulson began gently, "I want you to know that I won't do so. I will, however, have to ask you both to meet with Director Fury after the paperwork has been filled out and put on file."

"May I make a request, provided it's not overstepping my position and duties?" Natalie asked. When Coulson nodded, she felt relief wash over her. "If these events are grounds for any demotions, please make it happen to myself and not Agent Hill- I took that quinjet into the field without proper notice or backup, so anything bad that happened that night was my doing, not that of Agent Hill or her team."

Coulson was taken aback at Natalie's words. "Why would Fury demote either of you?"

"For one, we have been romantically involved practically since the word 'go,'" Natalie explained. "Agent Hill is also a superior to me, and I did some horribly reckless things that could have cost SHIELD a lot."

Coulson shook his head. "You did what was right, and your romantic involvement with Agent Hill is strictly out of the office, correct?"

Natalie nodded in response. _Sheesh, he sounds like Dad with the whole "you did the right thing" bit, _she thought to herself.

"Please make sure you fill out the paperwork and return it to me when you are finished," Coulson dismissed, relieving Natalie once more.

"Yes sir," Natalie answered, following Coulson to the door with the file in hand. On the outside, she was stern, almost made of stone, but on the inside, she was jumping for joy. With a joyful grin, she pranced back to the medical ward, anxious to see Maria. When she arrived, however, she found an uneasy sight in Maria's room:

"Agent Morgan," Director Fury greeted, nodding at Natalie. The young agent's heart began to pound, especially when she noticed the fearful look in Maria's eyes.

"Yes sir?" Natalie asked, trying to not go into a protective state.

Fury approached Natalie and gestured towards the room. "Mind if I talk to you and Agent Hill for a few minutes?"

* * *

Maria was silenced in terror when she spotted Natalie in the doorway- Fury had dropped by to talk to her while Natalie was talking to Coulson, and Maria suspected that it was deliberate. Natalie, however, appeared unfazed by the Director's presence and followed him into the room.

"How long have you two been involved with one another?" Fury asked right off the bat, glancing between her and Natalie.

Maria regained her bearing and looked Fury in the eye. "The romantic involvement began on Agent Morgan's first day aboard the Helicarrier. However, both of us were off-duty per your orders when it began."

Fury glanced away momentarily. "Hmm... I heard that Agent Coulson walked in on the two of you in a rather ... different situation after he'd heard that Agent Hill had gone to talk to you about Volchenkov. Is that true?"

"Yes sir," Natalie answered honestly, not tearing her eyes away from Fury's gaze.

"Did Agent Coulson ever iterate to either of you that fraternization is against SHIELD protocol?" Fury demanded, scaring Maria slightly.

"No sir," Natalie answered. "However, if I may..."

"Go ahead," Fury answered, shooting Natalie a rock-solid glare, which didn't seem to faze her at all.

"I do recall the protocol stating that 'fraternization of any kind while on duty is strictly prohibited,'" Natalie rattled off, catching Fury and Maria off guard. "However, I did _not_ read, hear, or see anything to suggest that an _off-duty_ relationship between two agents would also be prohibited."

Fury was obviously caught off-guard by Natalie's statement. "You do have a valid point, but that does not excuse your actions."

"Understood," Natalie answered simply, still not taking her eyes off of Fury.

"Moving on- because you are involved with each other," Fury began pointedly, forcing Natalie and Maria to brace for a severe lecture or a possible demotion, "I will need you to fill out some paperwork that will be placed on your files. The paperwork will entail that proper notice be given to either one of you in the event of an emergency, line of duty death or injury, attack, or kidnapping. Should any of those events happen, either myself or Agent Coulson will meet with you to discuss the situation and all options that can and/or will be taken in the wake of those events."

"Yes sir," Maria finally answered, glancing at Natalie pointedly.

"However," Fury pointed out, "I must ask that you both keep this intimate relationship outside of SHIELD in order to protect your identities, potential covers and/or aliases, and each other."

"Yes sir," Natalie and Maria answered simultaneously.

"Thank you," Fury closed, nodding at his young agents. "Agent Hill, I will bring you the paperwork when you have recovered and are back on duty."

Maria grinned for the first time within the last few minutes. "Thank you."

Fury nodded and left the two agents alone, relieving both of them immensely.

"You alright?" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow at Maria.

"I was _not_ expecting that..." Maria admitted, turning away from Natalie.

"Neither was I..." Natalie uttered, bowing her head and bracing for Maria's fury. When she didn't get verbally berated, she glanced up in worry and noticed that Maria was staring off into space. "Maria?"

Maria sighed before turning her attention back to Natalie. "What the hell _are_ we, Natalie?"

Natalie's heart broke at Maria's question, but it didn't stop her from pulling Maria into a passionate kiss. Maria was caught off guard but slowly melted into the kiss before returning it with an equally burning passion. Natalie pulled away and slowly pressed Maria against the gurney, leaving a trail of kisses down her jawline and throat. Maria groaned as a result and threw her head back in an ecstasy before pulling Natalie flat against her body. The older agent's heart was pounding against her ribs and she suddenly felt a throbbing between her legs, and she blushed at the mere _thought_ of taking her relationship with Natalie to the next level. Beads of sweat made their way down Maria's forehead for a split second before they were brushed away by her lover's hands.

"Are you alright?" Natalie whispered, her soulful blue eyes driving Maria wild.

"Just a little ... heated..." Maria gasped.

"And uncertain," Natalie deduced, catching Maria's full attention. "I understand, babe- we have only been together for a few days, yet it feels like forever..."

Maria was taken aback by Natalie's honesty. "So you feel it too..."

Natalie's charm escaped through a wide grin. "I do..."

"Yet you don't wanna move too quickly..." Maria trailed off, hoping that she hadn't upset Natalie.

"Look, I gotta tell you somethin'..." Natalie sighed. "When I was with ... my ex, things escalated really quickly, and after only being together for a month ... well..."

"You had sex," Maria filled in, internally grinning at the thought of sleeping with Natalie. _Shut up, you fucking asshole,_ she ordered her subconscious.

"Yeah..." Natalie admitted, her voice flooded with pain. "Two days later, she left me for another girl... I was devastated and now ... I am afraid to go down that road so fast for fear of losing the one that I love..."

Maria took Natalie's hand in her own. "I understand, Natalie. The first time I did ... that, I was young and had been seeing this gal for about six months. Next thing I know, she's leaving me and saying that she wasn't ready to commit..."

"She needs an ass kicking," Natalie joked, making Maria laugh. "Her and Emily both. Like, _now."_

Maria laughed even harder at Natalie's last statement. "This Emily have a last name?"

"James," Natalie answered. "I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole, though- she was a rather bad lay, which means she's probably _crawling_ with who the fuck knows what..."

"NATALIE!" Maria shrieked, now laughing so hard that she was snorting.

"Oh well- her new bit- I mean girlfriend will find that out sooner or later," Natalie gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as laughter rattled her chest.

Maria took several deep breaths to quell her laughter before gazing into Natalie's baby blue eyes. "It feels good that we can talk like best friends."

"Hell yeah," Natalie agreed, "and it feels good that we can also do this."

Maria had barely opened her mouth to speak when Natalie kissed her with a fiery hunger and longing. The older agent pulled Natalie flush against her body and held her there, wrapping her legs around Natalie's back while Natalie forced her tongue down Maria's throat. The moan that erupted in Natalie's chest was one of need, but she didn't give in to the temptation. Maria, however, was fighting a losing battle and broke away to trace her lips along Natalie's throat, fueling the fire in the pale-eyed brunette's heart. It was the trail of searing kisses that pushed Natalie over the edge and sent her into overdrive. She kissed Maria with insane desire and felt her hips starting to move; her body was now no longer in her control.

The grinding continued for several minutes before Maria pushed Natalie back a little bit. "Wait..."

The fiery lust in Natalie's eyes was quickly extinguished. "Are you alright?"

Maria chewed on her lip for a moment. "We should wait ... we only just met recently, and going right into the sex- even though I'm sure it'd be mind-blowing- could mess things up for us. I don't want to do that to you; you deserve better."

"I already have better," Natalie pointed out. "I have you, and that is what makes me happy. I'll be yours so long as you want me, and if you ever need stress relief I have a few ... ideas for that."

Maria started giggling uncontrollably. "Good God, you're vicious!"

"Damn," Natalie swore, cursing Maria's resistance to her flirting. "I thought that might have turned you on!"

"Who said it didn't?" Maria whispered, throwing an extremely seductive wink at Natalie. The younger agent's jaw dropped and remained as such, so Maria pulled her in for another vicious kiss. Natalie moaned ever so softly and placed one hand on the back of Maria's head while Maria snaked her arms around Natalie's waist, holding her tight against her chest.

Maria felt Natalie break away and when she tried to close the distance again, she felt Natalie's hands on her shoulders. "Hang on..."

"What's wrong?" Maria whispered, her brow dented like a beaten up truck. "Natalie?"

Natalie sighed heavily and sat back. "Nothing's wrong, Maria. Seriously."

Maria still wasn't convinced. "Come on, Natalie, I can read you like an open book. Something is off, and if you wanna talk about it, I'll listen."

"Maria," Natalie began softly, a warm smile spreading across her mouth, "once you get out of the medical ward and we have time, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me ... but where are we going to go without anyone noticing? The deck is out of the question, and there's no posh restaurants on this helicarrier."

"Who said it'd be here at all?" Natalie asked with a hint of mischief in her voice.

Maria understood right away and pointed her finger at Natalie. "Oh no, bad idea! Very, _very_ bad idea!"

Natalie feigned hurt and clutched her chest. "Ouch, Hill."

Maria smirked and playfully shoved Natalie. "No."

"Hey!" Natalie pouted, sticking her lower lip out. "I wouldn't take a quinjet out without authorization anyways, you dweeb!"

"So what's your plan?" Maria asked gently. "And please, _please_ don't say 'Netflix and chill!'"

Natalie pinched the bridge of her nose and laughed. "Fuck no! We could just have a movie night in that secret room that my dad mentioned earlier, eat popcorn, play videogames, and talk. None of that player type shit."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "If your dad knows about that secret room, then he knows that only certain people can go there!"

Natalie's face twisted to reveal a very, _very_ mischievous grin. "About that..."

"What the hell did you do?!" Maria squealed, looking at her lover in shock.

Natalie began laughing so hard that she lost her balance and fell off of the bed. "Shit-!" She took a moment to gather herself and ignore Maria's fits of laughter. "I was gonna say that because I work here too, I have access to that room."

"C'mon, Nat, I know you stole your brother's key card," Maria pressed, locking eyes with Natalie.

Natalie produced a small key card. "Then explain why this one is unlike any of the other agents' key cards?"

"Fine," Maria shrugged. "But we can't get caught by anyone else, and we have to go there when we're _off duty._ Last thing we need is Fury or Coulson canning us."

"Ha, I'm more worried about Matthews," Natalie admitted. "He was sizin' me up when I got here. I'd hate to have to tell him to swerve."

Maria burst out laughing. _"Xander Matthews_ was staring at you?!"

"He was, and then he paled when he saw my dad pull out his mask for the mission..." Natalie admitted. "Yikes."

The mental image of Matthews' expression proved to be too much for Maria to handle. "Oh my God...!"

"Heh, you're telling me!" Natalie laughed heartily. "Seriously, though, what say you? Videogames, popcorn, movies, and maybe some pool?"

"They don't have a pool table in that room, you dunce!" Maria countered. Natalie merely raised an eyebrow and locked eyes with her lover.

"They did when I checked it out," Natalie admitted. "I don't know who brought it in there, but if I had to guess, it was Barton or Stark, maybe even Romanoff."

"Whatever," Maria dismissed. "Let's do it the next time we're off duty."

Natalie's grin was wide and revealed snow-white teeth that caught Maria's eye. "Sounds great; I can't wait!"

"You're in a lot of trouble, though!" Maria teased, edging closer to Natalie. The younger brunette didn't seem to be bothered by Maria's challenge, however.

"Okay, so you might kick my ass in pool," Natalie admitted. "However, who's to say that I won't kick your ass in videogames?"

"Oh, it is _so_ on!" Maria declared. "Well, once I can get out of this medical bay and not be hooked up to these fucking tubes and wires!"

"Give it time, honey," Natalie encouraged. She stood up to leave, making sure that she didn't pull on any wires or tubes before leaning down to kiss Maria on her forehead. "You'll be out of here soon, I'm sure ... and when you're out, I'll be right there with you."

_God dammit, why does she have to be so perfect?!_ Maria's subconscious demanded. She quickly cleared her mind and raised an eyebrow at Natalie. "Once I'm out, you're _so_ fucked!"

"Might just look forward to that!" Natalie sang as she pranced out of the room. Maria chuckled and turned back onto her side, the beeping of the heart monitor lulling her to sleep.

* * *

Only one hour had passed since she had left Maria in the medical bay, and Natalie was already wondering if there was anything else to do besides paperwork. Her computer felt warm to the touch, and she couldn't help but wonder if SHIELD paperwork was designed to fry one's laptop from the inside out. In fact, the only thing that had been keeping her sane besides the knowledge of Maria being awake had been her music. She had lost herself in her work so quickly that it took her a second to realize that one of her favorite songs was playing on her iPod. She quickly turned up the volume and leaned back in her chair, losing herself in the music.

_"Well fortune favors not the young, spoken words and songs unsung ... right._

_"I never learn from my mistakes, I guess I don't have what it takes ... right._

_"I wish that I was strong, that I could walk away...  
_

_"All this time I've lost, I feel the cost repaid..._

_"So save, today, the secrets that you prayed for!_

_"And wait ... cause we deserve so much more!_

_"So save the secrets that you prayed for!_

_"Awake, I'll see you on the other side!"_

Natalie exhaled loudly and shoved a file into a manila folder, her mind wandering to Maria.

_"A tortured soul have I become,_

_"It keeps me safe and leaves me numb ... right._

_"Cause in this dream I'm wide awake,_

_"The one I love I did forsake ... right._

_"I wish that I was wrong, that you'd come home again._

_"All this time I've lost, I'll never find again..._

_"So save, today, the secrets that you prayed for!_

_"And wait ... cause we deserve so much more!_

_"So save the secrets that you prayed for!_

_"Awake, I'll see you on the other side!"_

A wrinkled photograph fell out of a blue folder and stole Natalie's breath:

It was a photo of her and a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. Natalie had been wearing her favorite band t-shirt (Metallica), a pair of ripped jeans, her black combat boots, and her leather jacket. The blonde-haired girl had been wearing a black turtleneck, skinny jeans, and low-top sneakers. Her hair was in a loose ponytail save for a few strands above her eyes. Jet-black eyeliner brought attention to her blue eyes, and her dimpled grin emphasized her charm. She appeared to be so happy to be in Natalie's arms, yet the photo brought about several emotions that had been buried in Natalie's heart.

_"Say you can help me now, say you can help me now!_

_"Say you can help me now, say you can help me now!_

_"So save, today, the secrets that you prayed for!_

_"And wait, cause we deserve it so much more!_

_"So save the secrets that you prayed for!_

_"Awake, I'll see you on the other side!"_

Natalie stuffed the photo back into the folder and shoved it into her desk, vowing to burn it later. Tears stung her eyes as she finished filing the rest of her paperwork, trying to not go completely bonkers. _Why did that photo have to pop up _now, Natalie's mind asked. _I was so happy with Maria and looking forward to finishing this paperwork, then that stupid photo came out of nowhere and ruined everything! It's like I can't get rid of her!_ Natalie quickly shook the thoughts of her ex-girlfriend from her mind and signed off on her field and incident reports. _Finally, a fucking break..._ Her mind wandered back to Maria, and she grinned at the prospect of her lover getting out of the medical bay within the next few days. _Wait a minute ... Coulson gave me paperwork about mine and Maria's relationship. I could probably start it right now, just to see what questions it asks..._ She opened the folder that Coulson had given her earlier that day and began scanning it. _Ugh, it's asking for details... I'll probably go over it with Maria once she's out of the medical bay._ Natalie stuffed the paperwork back into the folder and put it onto her shelf, vowing to look at it at a later date with Maria. She pushed the blonde out of her mind and focused on her field reports. _Damn government and their paperwork,_ she cursed silently, her blue eyes burning as she signed off on her reports. _Always gotta have a physical copy somewhere so that people get swamped..._ She stuffed her field reports into a folder and leaped out of her chair, eager to hand them to Coulson and get on with her day. A heated sigh escaped from between her teeth as she moved to leave her quarters, paperwork in hand. The song on her iPod had since then changed, and the song triggered several emotions that hit her in waves. A few questions from the packet echoed in her mind nonstop, and it was starting to drive her nuts. _Should you and your partner break up, understand that you still have to work together. Are you willing to comply with this policy? Talk (or write) about a time where you had to work separately from your partner in an assignment. How did this affect you and why? Were you able to focus on your own piece of the mission and not think about your partner's? How do you personally feel your relationship may affect your duties?_ Natalie shoved her thoughts into their Pandora's Box and continued on her way to Coulson's office. Yeah, her being on desk duty for hijacking the quinjet and flying into a hot zone without authorization or backup was fair consequence, but that didn't mean that she enjoyed it. _In fact,_ she thought, _SHIELD protocol can shove a cactus where the sun doesn't shine. Romanoff would have done the same thing if it had been her best friend Clint out there. Same with Cap and Bucky, Tony with Pepper, Thor with Jane..._

Her thoughts continued to torture her as she arrived outside of Coulson's office five minutes later, her fingers almost strangling the paperwork in her hand. She exhaled sharply before knocking on the door, hoping that the reports in her hand were the only thing to worry about besides the information that Coulson had requested regarding her and Maria's relationship. Paperwork was just as much of a nuisance as homework, even though it was necessary. She quickly composed herself again, hiding any hint of emotion within her. _"Come in!"_

Natalie opened the door to Coulson's office and waltzed right in, her boots clashing against the cement floor. "Sir, I have the field reports that you requested." She held up the folders of paperwork in her hand, noting Coulson's slightly surprised expression.

"Thank you, miss Morgan," Coulson answered, holding his hand out to her. Natalie handed him the files and turned to leave, only to be stopped by Coulson. "Just a moment..."

Natalie's ears twitched as she turned back to face Coulson. "Sir?"

"How are you feeling?" Coulson asked gently, locking eyes with Natalie.

_Do **not **__let him into your head, Morgan,_ Natalie subconsciously ordered herself. "Physically and mentally, I am just fine." _The hell you are- you're thinking about Maria and your plans for your "date!"_

Coulson didn't buy a word of Natalie's statement. "I know better than that, miss Morgan. Is it the paperwork, the desk duty, or the fact that your new lover is still in the medical ward? Or is it because of your ex-lover?"

"I'm afraid you've struck out, sir," Natalie responded. "I am not having any issues at this time." _Don't even try it with me, dude- I'll kick your ass up and down this ship if you so much as **say** her name!_

Coulson merely smiled. "Then what is it that's bothering you?"

_Fuck, he's good,_ Natalie's subconscious prodded. "Would you really like to know what's going on with me, sir?"

"You're a member of this organization and a key team member for the task force that we've assembled to find, capture, and question Volchenkov and his men," Coulson explained. "If I had to take a guess, it's because of your recent breakup with one Emily James..."

Rage coursed through Natalie's blood like burning gasoline. "You do _not_ talk about that. _Ever."_

_Caught in the web,_ Coulson thought to himself. "Is your recent breakup with miss James and your sudden leap into a relationship with Agent Hill the cause for you to act like this?" He stood up and strode over to Natalie, trying to quell the brewing storm within the young agent.

"You need to back up." Natalie's voice was cold, and it reminded Coulson eerily of Shadowstep. _"Now."_

Coulson relaxed a little in order to prevent Natalie from going entirely bonkers. "Just know that if you'd like to talk about it, I'll listen to you. Nobody else will know unless what you say poses a threat to you or others."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Natalie scoffed. "I don't need to go telling people about my past." She turned to leave and was relieved to note that Coulson had no intention of following her. "You'll have that paperwork regarding the relationship between myself and Agent Hill on your desk by the end of the day."

"Thank you, Agent Morgan," Coulson responded, snatching the field reports off of his desk as the brunette left his office. _She's stubborn, but easy to read,_ he thought to himself. _Her ex is definitely messing with her head. I hope that the paperwork regarding her and Hill will be able to take her mind off of it._

* * *

Natalie was so tempted to throw her bunk onto its side out of pure frustration- Coulson had asked about Emily, and that alone was, in Natalie's mind, enough to warrant a beating or death. _You can't think like your dad used to,_ Natalie ordered herself. _It'll make things even worse, and you'll lose the people that you love!_ Frustrated, Natalie shoved all of the empty papers off of her desk and turned on her iPod, finding solace in the harsh melodies of As I Lay Dying's "Nothing Left."

_"This world was never worthy!_

_"But how can I call it unfaithful?!_

_"Every promise was fulfilled, as decay crawled from its throat!_

_"Like the dead rising from an open grave, lips of splendor and tongue of deceit,_

_"All dying now as our fragile wrists hold only waste!"_

Natalie laid her head in her hands and tried to forget about her ex-girlfriend in any way possible. She thought of Maria and how happy the older agent had seemed to be when they had first met, and even happier when they had kissed for the first time.

_"Like those gasping ... for their last breath!_

_"We cannot hide ... there's nothing left!"_

A knock on the door caught Natalie off guard and she almost went flying out of her seat. "Just a moment!"She turned her music down and immediately rushed to the door, praying that it wasn't Coulson or Fury on the other side- she'd flip her lid if it was! Exhaling sharply, Natalie pulled the door open and nearly fell over as a result.

"Hey Nat." Maria was standing on the other side of the door, smiling despite the butterfly bandages that had been placed above her eyebrow.

Natalie was astonished to see Maria out of the medical bay _already._ "Did you sneak outta the med bay?"

Maria laughed in spite of the pain that rattled within her body. "Nah, they discharged me. Mind if I come in?"

Natalie raised an eyebrow and the sight of it stole Maria's breath, distracting her long enough so that Natalie could pull Maria inside, close the door, and gently push Maria against the wall before kissing her with such a fiery longing that Maria melted on the spot. The kiss grew even more aggressive with each passing second, and when it got to be too much, Natalie pulled away, locking eyes with Maria. "My God, I've missed you."

"I missed you too," Maria whispered, pulling Natalie flush against her chest. "After you left to work on your reports, I started going crazy."

Natalie smirked so evilly to make the Devil would've appeared harmless. "Well, you're here now, so we can go a little crazy if we want to...!"

"Doc said no rough activities," Maria responded painfully. She spied the mess of papers surrounding Natalie's desk. "What happened there?"

"... long story," Natalie answered hesitantly, chewing her lip. She pulled Maria close and held her there, not wanting to let go.

Maria, however, had been sparked as curious when she saw what appeared to be the back of a photograph on Natalie's desk. "Family photo?"

"Yeah," Natalie lied, hoping that Maria wouldn't turn the photo over. She cringed when her beloved picked up the photograph and turned it over. Her heart broke when she saw Maria's eyes narrow.

"Your ex?" Maria asked simply, glaring into the photograph.

Natalie choked back tears for a moment. "Yeah..."

Maria's scowl turned into a smirk. "Clearly she has no idea what she lost!" She tossed the photograph onto Natalie's desk and pulled Natalie into her arms. "I love you, Natalie."

Natalie's brain hadn't even processed whatever thoughts had been running through it before Natalie had pulled Maria against her and kissed her senseless. "I love you, Maria. As for that photo, I was planning to burn it. If you want to ... we can do that together!"

"You're so sexy when you talk about setting things on fire or shooting them!" Maria purred, raising a pert brown eyebrow at Natalie.

"That so?" Natalie quizzed, an evil smirk pulling at her lips. Maria had barely nodded before Natalie pulled her flush against her chest, wrapping her arms around the older agent's waist while her lips traced every amount of exposed flesh that she could find. A soft moan escaped from Maria's throat, and Natalie got excited, perhaps animal-like as she had started biting down on Maria's exposed flesh while a growl boiled in her chest.

"Nat..." Maria trailed off, arching her neck as Natalie attacked more and more flesh. "Nat!"

Natalie pulled back and gazed at Maria, terrified to see fear in her lover's eyes. "Jesus... Are you okay, Maria?"

Maria's lungs had started taking in air faster than she could focus. "... I'm okay... Just ... just scared."

"Oh, honey, I am so sorry," Natalie responded, pulling Maria close. "I got way too excited... I'm sorry..."

"You're okay, honey," Maria soothed, placing a finger on Natalie's lips. "You're okay, and I'm okay."

Natalie couldn't form words as she had started to quake in Maria's arms. Fear was gripping her tight, and though she fought it, she was not sure she'd win. She rested her head on Maria's shoulder for a few moments and attempted to steady herself, her heart trying to break from her ribs. She felt tears stinging her eyes, but she quickly cleared her head, not wanting Maria to see her so vulnerable.

"Hey," Maria whispered, placing her hand under Natalie's chin and gently lifting it up. "What's wrong...?"

Natalie swallowed hard and tried to form words. "I... I lost control. I'm sorry..."

Maria felt worry wash over her heart as she locked eyes with her lover. "Babe, shit happens..."

"I can't lose control like that," Natalie countered. "I can't... You mean too much to me to let that kind of shit happen..."

Maria chewed on her lip for a moment. "We both got a little into it, Nat. If anything ... I sort of encouraged it at first..."

"I saw fear in your eyes when I pulled back," Natalie responded. "I should not have bitten you..."

Maria glanced down at her body for a moment and chuckled. "Well, at least you bit me where people aren't gonna be able to see it..." She closely examined one of the bite marks on her shoulder and noticed two very obvious snake-like marks. "How fucking big are your canine teeth?!"

Natalie managed to smirk for the first time since the incident. "I honestly have no idea, and I don't think I wanna find out...!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, it didn't hurt that much," Maria consoled, wrapping an arm around Natalie's shoulders. "Only felt like a poke..."

"Hopefully not a bad kind of poke..." Natalie trailed off.

Maria merely smirked. "Not at all... In fact, it was rather hot!"

Natalie's face contorted as shock took over while her brain failed to form a response. "... Um..."

"My God, you're cute when you're flustered!" Maria giggled before leaning in to kiss Natalie. Natalie relaxed instantly, forgetting all of her troubles for a few moments. Maria felt her heart jumping against her ribs as she pulled away from Natalie and fired a soul-piercing gaze at her. "You okay?"

"I sure as hell am now!" Natalie remarked with a smirk. "Just having you here makes me forget all about my bitch of an ex and that paperwork that Coulson wants us to fill out."

"Ugh, as if we don't have enough paperwork here at SHIELD!" Maria groaned, glancing away from Natalie for a moment. "Why don't we work on it together?"

Natalie leaned against the doorway and folded her arms over her chest. "Do you really want to?"

"Hey, what kind of colleague would I be if I didn't help people with annoying paperwork?" Maria joked, earning a jab from Natalie. "Hey, careful!"

"Sorry," Natalie apologized as she grabbed the stack of paperwork that Coulson had given her. "Okay, first question: _'Should you and your partner break up, understand that you still have to work together. Are you willing to comply with this policy?'_ Ugh, do they really need that question answered?!"

"Worst case scenario is that we don't talk to one another save for mission comms," Maria suggested. She earned a rather fearful look from Natalie in response. "I doubt that'll happen, though."

Natalie clicked her pen and started scribbling her response. _Given the SHIELD policy on workplace relationships, I am willing to comply with this should my partner and I break up for any reason. I promise that, in any scenario, I will work with her and follow her given orders without question._ "Okay, next question: _'Talk (or write) about a time where you had to work separately from your partner in an assignment. How did this affect you and why? Were you able to focus on your own piece of the mission and not think about your partner's?'_ I have only worked separately from you for one mission, and we all know how it turned out..."

"Two," Maria corrected. "You went with Shadowglass to bring in Doctor Schmidt from London, and you were on comms when I accompanied Shadowstep and his unit out to Novosibirsk."

"Dammit, I totally forgot about London," Natalie moaned, smacking her palm against her forehead. "Thanks for the reminder." She clicked her pen and scribbled her answer. _During my second mission as a SHIELD agent, I was assigned to bring in a suspect for questioning and had been working away from my partner. Being away from her was difficult because, naturally, I missed her and was worried about her. On the other hand, I was able to work with the other agent and complete the mission without any issue and without thinking about whatever it was that my partner was doing._ "Okay, last question... _'How do you personally feel your relationship may affect your duties?'"_

"Perhaps delve into the whole incident with Novosibirsk here?" Maria suggested softly, reminding herself that it was partially because of Natalie's reckless behavior that she was still alive. "Note that you accepted your consequences without objection and are willing to focus on the mission at hand, even if it means being away from me."

Natalie was nodding along to Maria's answer as she started writing. _Despite previous events in Novosibirsk where my reckless behavior landed me in hot water with Director Fury and being assigned to desk duty until further notice, my current relationship with Deputy Director Maria Hill has not prevented me from focusing on my work and completing my assignments. I do not believe that my current relationship with Deputy Director Hill will negatively affect my duties any further; my sole responsibility while on-duty is to SHIELD, its objectives and goals, and the assignments given to myself and my teammates by those appointed over me. I will likely not be employed at SHIELD after June sixteenth of this year given that I have enlisted in the US Marine Corps (see my file for additional details.)_ "I also mentioned that I was gonna be leaving for the Marines in June..."

"What's to bet Coulson added a question about how your relationship were to be affected if you or I were to leave the agency?" Maria wondered aloud, trying her best to not think about Natalie leaving her for the military.

Natalie stared at Maria in total shock. "Are you a fucking psychic or something?! This next question literally is _'should you or your partner ever leave SHIELD for any reason, how will this affect your relationship? Will you be able to focus on your duties as a SHIELD agent and make any necessary sacrifices in order to complete your assignments or be willing to be separated from your partner for any amount of time and/or undisclosed reason?'"_

Maria's eyebrows rose on her forehead. "Holy fuck..." She scanned the question with her own eyes and tried to form a response. "... I know that you're leaving for the Marines in a few months, and though it will likely drive me nuts being without you, I will still do my job here for your sake and my own. Would you be willing to do the same if I left and you stayed?"

Natalie chewed on her lip for a moment. "As long as you are able and willing to do your work here before and after I leave, I will focus on my mission for our sake." She dragged her gel pen across the paper as her response was recorded. _After speaking with my partner extensively, I have agreed to focus solely on my missions/duties here at SHIELD in the event that she is to leave for any reason. I will not betray the agency in the event that she is terminated or that I am sent on assignment for an undisclosed amount of time at any point. If I were to leave the agency, I realize that my partner's duties to the agency come first and will not object or question her or this agency for any information regarding her assignment(s), details of her work, or anything that has happened except for the event in which she has lost her life._ "Wow, that's not a lot of questions for SHIELD paperwork..."

"Damn!" Maria marveled. "Coulson probably wanted to keep things short and sweet so that there's less paperwork for the agency to go through and file... Fury despises having paper files, but his bosses make him do it..."

"Stupid fucking government," Natalie cursed, earning a raised eyebrow from Maria. "What? It's true- they do too much paperwork! There's a reason we have _technology!"_

"Viruses?" Maria suggested pointedly. "Broken computers or tablets? Hackers?"

Natalie signed off on her paperwork and stuck it back in its manila folder. "Even then, SHIELD is one of the top intelligence organizations in the world. If there's not some sort of superior antivirus to protect SHIELD files, then I guess I've seen it all..."

Maria leaned against the desk. "You have any other paperwork you need to do?"

"Just these stupid incident reports and burning that photo of me and my ex..." Natalie admitted somberly. "Oh, I gotta turn this in to Coulson personally so that it doesn't get 'misplaced.'" She leaped to her feet and pranced over to the door, clutching the paperwork in a tight grip. "Care to accompany me to Coulson's office...?"

"Considering you're on duty, probably not wise," Maria advised sadly. "I'll drop by later, though, once you're off."

"Fair enough," Natalie responded with a nod. She opened the door to her quarters and allowed Maria to exit first. "Agent Hill."

Maria left with a nod, doing her best to try to not kiss Natalie in front of any passing agents. She missed her and wanted to spend the whole day and night with her, but given SHIELD protocol, she decided against it to avoid getting the World Security Council, Fury, and Coulson on her ass._ Not to mention I don't need them extending my desk duty past my recovery time,_ Maria thought grudgingly as she made her way towards her quarters.

* * *

Maria was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she never noticed Natasha Romanoff standing outside of her quarters five minutes later.

"Most people go back to their quarters once they leave medical," Natasha teased with a smirk plastered to her face. "Did you sneak off to see a certain someone again?"

Maria turned to face Natasha, who still had a smirk on her face. "Where I go on my own time is none of your business, Romanoff." She placed her eye in range of the scanner; the door opened seconds later with a small hiss.

Natasha followed Maria inside, hoping to find out if it was Natalie that Maria had snuck off to see. "You went to see Morgan again, didn't you?"

Maria turned crisply on her heels, her blue-green eyes boring into Natasha's green ones with an evil glimmer. "Where I go. On my own time. Is none of your business. Now leave." She turned away from Natasha but knew that the Russian wouldn't budge- she never did.

"You know I won't say a word," Natasha prodded with a suggestive tone. Part of her was curious about whether or not Maria had been seeing Natalie Morgan while another part was teasing Maria, but there was something else tugging at her heart._ Get a grip, Natasha,_ she ordered herself as she folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the door. "C'mon, Maria, it's okay."

Maria glared at Natasha with fire burning in her eyes. "Romanoff, I swear to God, if you don't leave, I will go against the doctor's orders and kick your ass."

"That's all the proof I need," Natasha responded simply before turning to leave. She felt tears in her green eyes, and it bothered her because she had no idea why they were there in the first place._ What the hell? Am I falling for her and turning out jealous?_ It was obvious that Maria had noticed the tears, for she reached out and gently grabbed Natasha's arm.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Maria asked gently, her blue eyes now flooded with confusion.

"Nothing," Natasha dismissed, trying to shrug off Maria's hand. Maria simply squeezed Natasha's arm and tilted her head to the side in question. "Maria, I'm fine. Let me go."

Maria refused to budge. "I wanna know what's going on with you, Natasha."

Natasha cringed at the tone that Maria had used- she hadn't heard Maria speak her name with such a soft tone in a long time._ Shit._ She frantically began debating telling Maria the truth but ultimately decided against it. "Nothing is wrong, Maria. I'm fine, I swear."

"Then why are there tears in your eyes, sweetheart?" Maria prodded, her tone flooding with husk.

Natasha blinked the tears back furiously._ She _cannot_ see me like this. No fucking way._ She tensed up in Maria's grip and locked eyes with her. "Let. Me. Go."

Maria didn't flinch, nor did she release Natasha's arm. "Natasha, what is wrong? Why do you look like you're about to cry?"

"It's none of your business," Natasha answered heavily, averting Maria's gaze. "Let me go or I'll have no choice but to hurt you, and I don't wanna beat up someone who's already been hurt."

"Clearly you're hurting more than I am," Maria countered softly. "Is it wrong of me to wanna help you somehow?"

Natasha finally looked Maria in the eye. "You can't help me with this one. If you could, I would have already told you what was going on."

* * *

**Hey all, thanks for your views, follows, and favorites! Next chapter will deal with Maria and Natasha addressing whatever it is that is on Natasha's mind! Stay tuned to find out! Reviews are welcome and encouraged! :)**


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